A ship recycling worker has died and at least three others were injured following a blast in Sitakunda, Bangladesh.

The accident happened during work at an SN Corp facility on Saturday, when a boiler on a vessel exploded, according to local media.

The New Age daily newspaper said the injured workers suffered burns and were undergoing treatment at Chattogram Medical College Hospital.

The worker who lost his life was named as cutter Ripon Chakma, 26, who was pronounced dead at the hospital.

Police said the boiler exploded while the workers were dismantling an unnamed vessel.

Sitakunda police officer Abul Kalam Azad said a team was sent to the scene to start an investigation.

Critical condition

“The injured are in critical condition at the moment,” he said.

SN Corp has been contacted for comment.

Safety at Bangladesh’s breaking yards appeared to have improved since a series of incidents in 2019.

One worker — a cutter named as Shahidul — died that year when he fell from a former Evergreen ship at a recycling plant.

Another two workers died after inhaling toxic gas at the OWW plant in Sitakunda.

And two more lost their lives at the Ziri Subedar shipbreaking yard during scrapping of a former CSL vessel.

NGO Shipbreaking Platform reported that a heavy cable collapsed, hitting several workers at once.

The dead men were named as Aminul Islam, 35, and Tushar Chakma, 27.

Local authorities ordered the temporary closure of the yard while an investigation was carried out.

Following that accident, the pressure group said 15 workers had lost their lives in Chattogram shipyards.