KOCHI: Director General of Shipping has said that the blast at Kochi Shipyard could have been avoided.

“The flaw in the security check could have been the reason for the mishap. In the shipyard, there is facility to check any kind of gas leakage,” he said.

Meanwhile, Kochi Shipyard CMD Madhu Nair said that security examination was completed before the works in the ship started. “Every day it is made sure that there is no chemical gas inside the tank and yesterday morning also the tank was examined. The workers confirmed that there was no gas in the tank. Only after that they started to change plates,” CMD said.

 In yesterday’s accident, five persons had died.