Indonesia

Bangladesh death toll passes 500

Agence France-Presse

This is AI generated summarization, which may have errors. For context, always refer to the full article.

(UPDATED) The use of cranes and bulldozers to cut through the mountain of concrete and mangled steel had speeded up the recovery of bodies from the lower floors

Bangladeshi rescuers work as Bangladeshi Army personnel begin the second phase of the rescue operation using heavy equipment after an 8-storey building collapsed in Savar, on the outskirts of Dhaka, on April 29, 2013. AFP PHOTO/MUNIR UZ ZAMAN

DHAKA, Bangladesh (UPDATED) – The death toll from the collapse of a factory complex in Bangladesh passed 500 Friday, May 3, as the prime minister said Western retailers had to share some responsibility for the plight of garment workers.

It also emerged that an engineer who had warned that the building may be unsafe before it imploded on April 24 was being questioned by police after becoming the latest person to be arrested over the disaster.

The building housing five garment factories collapsed near capital Dhaka on April 24, trapping around 3,000 people. At least 2,437 people have been rescued, Rashid said.

Rashid said the use of cranes and bulldozers to cut through the mountain of concrete and mangled steel by army and fire brigade teams had speeded up the recovery of bodies from the lower floors.

Clutching photographs of their missing loved ones, scores of distraught relatives massed at the disaster site for a tenth day.

Suspended mayor

Police have arrested eight people including the owner of the Rana Plaza compound and four garment factory owners for forcing people to work on April 24 despite cracks appearing in the structure the previous day.

Authorities Thursday suspended the mayor of Savar for approving the building and failing to shut the factories when cracks appeared.

The disaster, the worst industrial tragedy in the country’s history, came just five months a fire killed 111 people in a nearby garment factory.

UK retailer Primark, Italy’s Benetton and Spanish firm Mango admitted that they had placed orders in the factories based in the compound, triggering a backlash in many countries in the West.

Bangladesh is the world’s second-largest garment exporter after China. The industry accounts for 80 percent of the country’s exports and more than 40 percent of its industrial workforce. – Rappler.com

Add a comment

Sort by

There are no comments yet. Add your comment to start the conversation.

Summarize this article with AI

How does this make you feel?

Loading
Download the Rappler App!