DHAKA, Sept. 14 -- The death toll from last week's explosion and fire at a ship-breaking yard in southeastern Bangladesh has hit six with two more injured succumbing to their wounds, an official said.

The victims died Saturday at a hospital in Dhaka, said Tariqul Islam, a resident physician of the institute.

"With this, the death toll in the explosion rose to six," he told journalists, adding that the death toll may rise further as several critically injured patients are undergoing treatment.

At least 12 people were wounded on Sept. 7 after a blast sparked a fire at a ship-breaking factory in Sitakunda on the outskirts of Bangladesh's southeastern Chattogram seaport city. Four of them had died earlier.

Bangladesh's Ministry of Industries has formed a committee to investigate the accident while operations at the ship-breaking yard have been suspended until further notice.

Bangladesh's Sitakunda sea beaches have emerged as one of the world's largest ship-breaking yards, with many European shipping companies sending their end-of-life ships for scrap.

  - Xinhua