Two Garo Catholics were among the dead in an oxygen factory explosion in Chittagong
Firefighters and rescue workers gather at the site of an explosion at an oxygen plant on the outskirts of Chittagong on March 4. (Photo: AFP)
The explosion at an oxygen-manufacturing plant in south-eastern Bangladesh that killed seven people and injured some 30 people, has prompted Chittagong Archdiocese to rush help to the victims.
The dead in the March 4 blast include two tribal Garo Catholics, said Salesian Sister Zita Rema, director of the Migrant Desk at the archdiocese which covers Chittagong.
Chittagong, the country’s largest port city and commercial hub, houses thousands of internal migrants from different parts of the country, hundreds of them Catholics, the nun said.
Local authorities said a probe is underway to ascertain the cause of the blast at Seema Oxygen Plant in Sitakunda, an industrial area near the city.
“We have helped the injured in the hospital with medical supervision and food and offered some money to those who are with the patients. We have also helped in handing over the dead bodies to their relatives,” Rema told UCA News.
She said Church people have also contacted the factory owners and government to arrange compensation for the families of the victims.
Some 5,000 Catholic migrants, mostly tribal people, are engaged in hazardous works in various factories in Chittagong including ship-breaking, oxygen plants, and steel plants, the nun said.
Over the years, the church has been offering pastoral care to migrant workers and visited factories to address their safety and rights issues, Rema said, adding that the service will continue.
Deadly factory blasts are not new in Bangladesh, often blamed on poor safety standards and hazardous working conditions.
A day after the Sitakunda blast, three people were killed and at least 50 were injured in an explosion at a commercial building in the capital Dhaka.
On June 4, 2022, a container carrying hydrogen peroxide exploded after a fire engulfed a container depot, leaving at least 50 people dead and hundreds injured.Tofazzal Hossain, the inspector of the Explosives Directorate of Chittagong, told UCA News the blast occurred when an oxygen cylinder exploded.
"We will investigate more closely to be sure what caused the explosion,” he said.
Sumon Barua, a member of the government inquiry committee probing the oxygen plant blast blamed the negligence of the owner behind the accident.
“The factory lacked expertise in managing the plant. The safety concerns were not properly addressed. We found out they didn’t have answers when we questioned the management of the factory,” Barua told UCA News.
Yasir Arafat Khan, associate professor of the Chemical Engineering department of the state-run Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology said the government needs to form a national-level committee to curb future industrial accidents.
“Such accidents continue to happen as there is a shortage of skilled manpower in factories, as well as a shortage of supervision. Government agencies also lack skilled manpower for supervision,” Khan told UCA News.
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