TWO men lost their lives and another 13 men have been injured during scrapping operations onboard a containership at a shipbreaking yard in Bangladesh.

The fatal incident occurred at Ziri Subedar shipbreaking yard on the beach of Chattogram, when a heavy cable collapsed and hit several men at once, according to NGO Shipbreaking Platform.



The local authorities have ordered the temporary closure of the yard and investigations are ongoing, reported Seatrade Maritime News, Colchester, England.



Bangladesh Environmental Lawyers Association (BELA) chief executive Rizwana Hasan expressed regret over the incident and said: 'Had they acted earlier, we could have saved these invaluable lives. The negligent authorities should also be punished as their failures and seeming cohesion have led to these tragic events.'



The 2005-built, 5,026-TEU container vessel involved in the tragedy has been identified as the CSL Virginia, which was later renamed Virgin Star when it was sold for demolition in Bangladesh.



So far this year, 15 shipbreaking workers have lost their lives in Chattogram, according to NGO Shipbreaking Platform.


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