A government probe has found serious safety lapses at a shipbreaking yard in Sitakunda, Chattogram, where 10 workers were killed after toxic hydrogen sulphide gas was leaked from a vessel’s ballast tank.

The investigation committee published its report at the industries ministry on Monday, recommending punitive action against the owner of Ferdous Steel Ship Recycling Industries under the Ship Breaking and Recycling Rules.

Industries minister Khandaker Abdul Muktadir said those responsible for negligence or dereliction of duty would face legal action.

The accident occurred on August 14 while workers were cutting a scrap vessel at the yard. The probe found that hydrogen sulphide gas escaped after workers pierced a ballast tank, causing workers at the site to lose consciousness.

The minister said people working in the ship recycling industry had not previously been aware that such a lethal gas could accumulate in ballast tanks.

He said the government had formed the probe committee immediately after the accident and that it submitted its report within the stipulated timeframe.

Probe committee chairman and additional secretary AKM Benjamin Riazi said the investigation found major safety failures at the yard.

Workers had not used gas masks or self-contained breathing apparatus while working on the hazardous tank.

The yard also lacked a safety manager, ambulance and rescue team on the holiday when the accident took place.

The probe found discrepancies in workers’ attendance records, an expired environmental clearance and no CCTV surveillance.

The committee recommended punitive action against the responsible people, stricter enforcement of safety rules and regular monitoring.

BUET professor and committee member Yasir Arafat Khan said hydrogen sulphide had formed through a microbial reaction involving sulphate in water under oxygen-deficient conditions.

The gas was suddenly released when workers drained the tank or started cutting it, he added.