Death Toll In Bangladesh Building Collapse

DHAKA, BANGLADESH (BNO NEWS) -- Rescue workers have so far recovered the bodies of 256 people after an eight-story building collapsed in Bangladesh, local authorities said on Thursday, as hopes of finding survivors among hundreds of people who may still be trapped began to fade.

The deadly accident occurred in Savar, located on the outskirts of the capital Dhaka, when the building collapsed at around 9 a.m. local time on Wednesday. It is believed no less than 3,000 people were working in the building, from which five clothing factories were operating.

Emergency teams, consisting of firefighters, army personnel, and members of Border Guard Bangladesh, have continued to desperately search for survivors among the rubble. More than 2,000 people were rescued alive in the first hours after the collapse, but at least 256 bodies had been recovered by late Thursday evening.

Thousands of local residents and family members are also at the scene, volunteering in relief work and supplying liquids and oxygen to those trapped under the rubble and to rescue workers. Local officials said they believed those trapped - believed to be several hundreds of people - could possibly survive until Saturday morning, but the chances of finding survivors are diminishing quickly.

Charles Kernaghan, Institute for Global Labor and Human Rights chief, said building workers had discovered a large crack on Tuesday and left the building, but the owner claimed it was safe and warned workers that they would not be paid if they did not return to work. Savar Upazila Chairman Firoz Kabir said the building had been ordered to shut down until details about its condition were known, but police orders to evacuate were not followed.

Similar accidents are not uncommon in Bangladesh due to poorly regulated safety standards, but Wednesday's accident appears the most deadly industrial accident in the country to date. At least 70 people were killed in 2005 when another garment factory collapsed on the outskirts of Dhaka.

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A complete waste of human lives.

Very sad.

I had the dubious pleasure to go to Bangladesh twice on business - both times in Dhaka . . . miserable, hot, dusty, poor, crowded, smelly . . .

. . . but lovely people.

The problem is, as in many countries similar to Bangladesh, that the wealthy build and cut costs . . .when something like this happens the victims and/or their families seldom have recourse.

RiP

Most often a building collapse is preceded by no warning. In this case it did. So sad that so many died - when it could have been avoided.

. . . and I am happy to be proven wrong in that two people have been arrested in connection to this atrocity

(story is on Huffington Post)

Yes, frickin awful. So much suffering.

Been looking at some of the photos. Now I'm no structural engineer but just seeing the way the 'concrete' was stripped off the reinforcing on flooring slaps etc. appears to me to be no more than hard sand! Also within a short distance of the collapse more of these death traps are in mid construction, Hope their government has the balls to tear em all down!

It sickens me how these sweat shop bosses put the cheap price of clothing over the value of peoples lives.

The workers in that building had no choice but to stay in an unsafe building because the owner knows that for every person that leaves they will be plenty more to take their place.

This story is getting traction in the Canadian media as one of our big retailers got some of its branded line from this particular shop. Comments in the news say that the needed structural upgrades and follow up enforcement would cost about $.10 per shirt. It is just not worth it. I hope consumers around the world continue to pressure their retailers on this issue. I wold like to keep the folks in Bangladesh and elsewhere employed but also alive and in reasonable dignity.