Rescue bid through tunnels

Rescue workers have dug around eight tunnels to pull out the possible survivors trapped under the debris of the collapsed Rana Plaza.

The tunnels were made using drilling machines as use of heavy equipment could trigger further collapse.

Fire Service official Forhad Hossain said rescuers were able to reach the 2nd floor of the wreckage after seven tunnels were drilled through the roof.

He said another tunnel was dug through the side wall of that floor.

With every passing moment the possibility of finding anyone alive under the rubbles are getting slimmer.

Enam Medical College Hospital emergency unit doctor Hira told bdnews24.com on Friday 40 more victims were brought to the hospital after being rescued from the wreckage.

She said many of them could be pulled out of the debris only after amputating their limbs.

Meanwhile, Industrial Police Director General Abdus Salam told bdnews24.com two Industrial Police personnel were rescued from the debris on Friday morning, 48 hours after the nine-storied building had collapsed.

Industrial Police Detective Branch Sub Inspector Mukul Kundu and Constable Rafiqul Islam were rescued from the third floor of the collapsed building around 10:00am, he said.

The two detectives had gone there to see if the factories were open on Wednesday. They had been missing ever since. They could not be reached on their mobile phones.

The plaza, reportedly built without following building codes, came crushing down on Wednesday morning, burying hundreds under heaps of steel and concrete.

Locals had immediately plunged into rescue work. They were later joined by police, RAB, BGB, Fire Service and Civil Defence personnel to start a full-fledged rescue operation.

While the rescuers so far could pull out alive more than 2,000 people, at least 250 bodies were handed over to the relatives, officials at the temporary control room said.

Fire Service and Civil Defence Director Mohammad Zahidul Islam on Thursday said the rescue operation would continue until Saturday before the process to remove the wreckage began.

“We are still looking for people trapped alive. We will continue our search for 72 hours (from the time of the building collapse),” he said.

He said heavy equipment and machinery would be used to remove the debris of the building after that.

The structure was erected over 56 decimals of land. The building housed five garment units, a bank and commercial shops of electronics, computer, cosmetic goods and clothes.