“Today, I was supposed to come to Choler's house to take the government job exam, but here is Choler's body.”

Rana Mia (23) of Paschim Kuptala village in Gaibandha Sadar, who was killed by toxic gas at a shipbreaking factory in Sitakunda, Chittagong, was saying these words while lamenting.

Rana Mia's body was taken to her village home in an ambulance on Saturday afternoon. Rana's father, sharecropper Harun Aur Rashid, was crying on one side of the yard after seeing his son's body.

He said, “The family is in poverty. The gram is given to him every month, but somehow the family was running, now we will give him a hammock.”

Two of the nine people killed in the shipbreaking factory in Sitakunda live in Gaibandha. One of them is Rana Mia. His home is in Paschim Kuptala village of Gaibandha Sadar Upazila.

Harun Or Rashid said, "Rana recently applied for a job as an office assistant in the Gaibandha District Commissioner's office. The written test for that job was supposed to be held on August 21. Rana was supposed to come to his house on Saturday to take the written test. But he returned home as a dead body."

Rana's elder brother Monarul Islam reached his house from Chittagong around 10 am with his body. After the body reached the village home, the surroundings became heavy with the cries and wailing of relatives. Neighbors also gathered at his house to have a look.

Later, the funeral was held after the Zuhr prayers. After the funeral, Rana Mia was buried in the family graveyard.

Monarul Islam said, "They are two brothers and a sister. Rana Mia passed SSC from Paschim Kuptala High School in 2021 and HSC from Sadullapur Degree College in 2023. Then, to help the needy family, he took a job as a laborer in a factory called Ferdous Steel in the Station Road area of ​​Bhatiari Union in Sitakunda.''

Monarul Islam also worked in another company in Chittagong. He lives there with his wife. Their only sister Pinky is married.

Khokon Mia (23) of Kishamat Haldia village in Dhopadanga Union of Sundarganj Upazila was killed in the same incident. His father is a sharecropper. They have two sons and a daughter. The eldest son, Ujjwal Mia, works in agriculture. The daughter is married. Khokon was the youngest.

Khokon's wife works in a private company in Dhaka with their two-year-old child. About six months ago, Khokon took a job in the shipbreaking company in Chittagong.

Khokon's body also reached his village home in an ambulance on Saturday morning. After the funeral service in the afternoon, he was buried in the family graveyard.

The accident occurred at the Ferdous Steel Ship Breaking Yard in the Station Road area of ​​Bhatiari Union in Sitakunda, Chittagong on Friday morning. Nine people were killed when toxic gas leaked from a gas cylinder of a scrap ship.

The deceased were identified as Matiur Rahman (19), Sunny Jaldas (23), Palash Jaldas (35), Habibur Rahman (51), Mohammad Mansur (55), Nasir Uddin (51), Abdul Alim (36), Rana Mia (23) and Khokon Mia (23).

Among the deceased, Sunny, Palash, Habibur, Mansur and Nasir are residents of Bhatiari. Mansur and Nasir are two brothers. Khokon and Rana Mia are from Gaibandha district and Abdul Alim is from Pabna district.

Rana and Khokon took up work as laborers at a shipbreaking factory in Chittagong to support their families in their poverty-stricken lives. Rana was also preparing for the government job exam. But before the exam day arrived, their lives were cut short by a workplace accident.

Source: BD News