Bangladesh Dhaka building collapse leaves 87 dead

 

 

At least 87 people have been killed and many others trapped after an eight-storey building housing garment factories collapsed outside the Bangladeshi capital, Dhaka. Firefighters and army personnel are leading the operation to rescue those caught beneath the debris in Savar. More than 1,000 people were injured. One official put the death toll at 127.

Cracks had been found in the building prior to the collapse, but owners told workers not to worry.
Building collapses are common in Bangladesh but this was one of the worst. Speaking at the scene, Home Minister Muhiuddin Khan Alamgir said the building had violated construction codes and "the culprits would be punished".

Bangladesh has one of the largest garment industries in the world, providing competitively priced clothes for major Western retailers which benefit from its widespread low-cost labour.

Grieving relatives have been anxiously waiting outside the collapsed building in Savar. Rescue teams have been working frantically using concrete cutters and cranes digging through the rubble to pull people out.  It is still not clear how many people are trapped inside, although local media say there are hundreds.

The reason for the collapse is not yet known. The latest incident has once again raised questions about safety standards in the country's thriving garments industry. However, factory owners say safety standards have improved significantly in recent years.

Tessel Pauli, a spokeswoman for the Amsterdam-based Clean Clothes Campaign, said activists at the scene had identified labels from European and US high-street brands.

"Immediate relief and long-term compensation must be provided by the brands who were sourcing from these factories, and responsibility taken for their lack of action to prevent this happening," she said in a statement .

Primark, a clothes retailer with a large presence in Britain, confirmed that one of its suppliers was on the second floor of the Rana Plaza. It said it was "shocked and deeply saddened by the appalling incident" and that it would work with other retailers to review standards. The Rana Plaza building contained several clothing factories, a bank and a market.

Police told local media that the rear of the building had suddenly started to collapse on Wednesday morning, and within a short time the whole structure - except the main pillar and parts of the front wall - had caved-in, triggering panic.

Only the ground floor of the building remained intact after the collapse, officials said.  Sohel Rana, a local who rescued several people, told Bangladeshi newspaper The Daily Star that he had heard cries for help coming from under the rubble. Lengths of fabric were used to pull survivors from the wreckage. Hundreds of people, anxious for news of friends and relatives, have gathered at the scene. Others are moving rubble using their bare hands.

"Already we've rescued three to four hundred people... Now we are cutting through the concrete walls and trying to get inside with the help of sniffer dogs," the fire brigade chief stated.