5 workers dead, 2 hurt in fire onboard ship at Alang

Massive fire broke out in ship, while it was being dismantled at Alang ship breaking yard’s plot no.82, on Saturday. Five migrant workers were burnt alive, while two critically wounded were referred to a hospital at Bhavnagar.

Crude oil tanker ‘MT Union Brave’ touched Alang ship breaking yard on September 1, 2012, and after getting necessary permissions from authorities concerned, it was undergoing cutting operations.

At 12.45 pm on Saturday, fire suddenly broke out during cutting procedure in the oil cargo tank. Fire brigade personnel from Alang rushed to the Kiran Ship Breaking Co. plot No.82, but they too were clueless about where to start their operation and finding the exact spot of fire in the ship.

They cut up a portion from the bottom from which firemen entered the ship and got control over the fire. However, asphyxiation prevented them from finding the missing persons.

After 3 hours of searching, fire brigade staff could reach to five people, who were completely burnt on the spot.