The September 7 explosion on the oil tanker MT Suvarna Swarajya in Bangladesh—which claimed the lives of six people with four still in critical condition—has brought to light the lack of adequate international and national regulations, oversight and labor rights protections in the shipbreaking industry, the Human Rights Watch and the Belgium-based NGO Shipbreaking Platform said.

On September 7, 2024, an explosion occured at a shipbreaking yard in the district of Chattogram’s Sitakunda upazila (administrative division functioning as a sub-unit of a district), severely injuring 12 workers, of whom six have since passed away from their injuries with the remaining four fighting for their lives.