Chittagong: A probe body has recommended withdrawal and divisional action against two top officers of Di-Ammonium Phosphate Fertilizer (DAP) Company Ltd in Anwara upazila over the ammonia tank explosion nine days ago, causing at least 50 workers to fall sick.

The report prepared by the district administration’s probe body said general manager (maintenance) of the factory Nakibul Islam and deputy chief engineer (electricity) Dikip Kumar Barua ‘did not perform their duty properly’.

After submission of the report on Wednesday, deputy commissioner Mesbah Uddin told reporters about its major findings and recommendations at his office. Additional district magistrate Mominur Rashid, who headed the probe body, was also present there.

Mesbah Uddin said the probe body has recommended withdrawal and divisional punishment of the two officers, reports UNB.

‘There were five types of equipment for the safety of the ammonia tank; of them all were dysfunctional,’ he said adding the 500 tonnes capacity tank was filled with around 340 tonnes of gas during the explosion.

Among those safety equipment, the cooling/refrigeration compressor of the tank had been dysfunctional for three years.

Besides, two pressure gauges of the tank that are used to calculate the pressure inside the tank had been dysfunctional for long.

One of the two pressure transmitters - which is a part of the automatic DCS system - had been dysfunctional for long while the functional one also got damaged the day before the accident.

In addition, the two pressure vents of the tank - which are used to release gas in times of excessive pressure inside the tank - were dysfunctional during the explosion.

Meanwhile, Bangladesh Chemical Industries Corporation (BCIC, which runs the factory, formed a 10-member committee to investigate the incident.

The emission of toxic ammonia at the fertiliser factory was brought under control on 23 August, some 11 hours after one of two smaller 500-tonne capacity ammonia storage tanks exploded. Fifty people, including women, were admitted to the Chittagong Medical College Hospital (CMCH).