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GAS LEAK KILLS
SIX ALANG LABOURERS
LLOYD'S LIST
Jan 3, 1999 - SIX labourers at India's Alang shipbreaking
yard choked to death and another is in a critical condition
following a carbon dioxide gas leak on a Russian ship they
were scrapping. All six were aged between 18 to 25 years,
and all were members of the Koli fisherfolk community,
hailing from the Mathavda village of Talaja district. The
incident comes just three weeks after a visiting team from
Greenpeace, the world environmental organisation, had
severely criticised the safety standards of Indian
scrapyards. The warnings appear to have been proved
accurate, as the New Year's Eve tragedy claimed the lives of
the young labourers at the Alang yard, on the Gujarat coast
in Western India. The mishap occurred at Plot no 70, owned
by RK Industries, where the workers were busy breaking the
Russian vessel Giovana. When a pickaxe of one of the team of
seven struck a gas cylinder, the gas leaked out, causing
asphyxiation. Five died on the spot before they could work
out an escape route, while another, the labour contractor,
Karim Sheikh, died while he was being taken to Bhavnagar
Civil Hospital. The seventh man is fighting for his life at
the hospital.
"Our preliminary investigations reveal
that there appeared to have been negligence on the part of
the labour contractor," said Bhavnagar district Collector
Raj Kumar. "Even apart from the pickaxe striking the gas
cylinder, there was inadequate ventilation in the
compartment in which the labourers were working." The
Gujarat state government has ordered a magistrate to launch
an inquiry into the accident. Explosive experts were also
called in.
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