Savar death count continues to rise

The death toll after a building collapsed at Savar continued to soar as the number touched 550 on Saturday morning, 11 days after the worst ever industrial disaster struck.

Rescuers retrieved another 25 bodies from the rubbles of the nine-storey Rana Plaza, which was constructed illegally.

Police say they have handed over 441 bodies so far to the relatives. Savar Model Police SI Abdul Jalil said nine bodies were kept at the local Adhar Chandra High School grounds for identification.

Over 70 bodies were recovered from the wreckage of the ill-fated high-rise that housed five readymade garment factories on Friday. These factories manufactured clothing for renowned European and American brands. Locals say over 3,500 people, mostly female garment workers were inside the building when it caved in on Apr 24.

General Officer Commanding of the 9th Infantry Division Major General Chowdhury Hasan Suhrawardy had said 2,437 people were rescued from the rubble of the collapsed multi-storied building.

Hundreds of people, holding photographs of their near and dear ones, were anxiously waiting for their friends and relatives.

Several decomposed bodies had been sent to the morgues of DMCH, and Salimullah Medical College and Hospital (Mitford).

Thirty-two unidentified bodies retrieved from the debris of collapsed Rana Plaza were buried on May 1 at Jurain graveyard, with the graves numbered according to their DNA samples.

Army, Fire Service and Red Crescent personnel started the second phase of the rescue operation using heavy cranes, cameras and trained dog squads since Thursday midnight.

The concrete slabs are being removed one by one and the debris dumped at the Bongshi River by trucks.

Maj Gen Suhrawardy had said on Friday that the bodies were being recovered “very carefully” or else, it would not be possible to bring out those still alive.

He had reiterated that the rescue operation would continue until all the bodies were recovered from the debris.

Confusion continues over the exact number of people still missing since the disaster.

Suhrawardy had told reporters on May 1 that only 149 people were still missing.

But the relatives of the victims said the number of the missing people was much more. Red Crescent estimated the number of missing at around 400.

Opposition Leader Khaleda Zia has blamed the government for lack of transparency and asked for accurate statistics of deaths and those injured and missing.

Bangladesh Army has rubbished allegations of ‘hiding’ bodies of those killed in the building collapse and described such claims as ‘unfortunate’.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has also ruled out such allegations, saying relatives and friends of those missing and media persons were present at the site all the time.

Jatiya Party Chairman Hussain Muhammad Ershad visited the collapsed Rana Plaza site on Friday morning.

He said it would have not been possible to rescue alive some 2,500 trapped people from the collapsed building, but for the Corps of Engineers of Bangladesh Army.

The huge structure came crushing down suddenly with a big bang on Apr 24. Most of the victims were workers employed in the five readymade garment factories on the upper floors of the building.

The Rana Plaza also had some 300 shops, which together employed nearly 6,000 workers. However, it is not still clear as to how many workers were in their workplaces on the fateful day.

Many survivors had alleged that the owners of their factories forced them to go to work on Apr 24 since cracks appeared on the building the day before.

Elite anti-crime force Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) arrested Mohammad Sohel Rana, owner of the building absconding since the collapse, from the border town of Benapole on Apr 28 while he was visibly trying to flee to India to evade justice.

Rana claimed at a press conference at RAB headquarters in Dhaka that the factory owners forced him to allow work in the building.

Owners of five garment units housed at the collapsed commercial building and two engineers of Savar Municipality responsible for buildings safety have already been arrested and remanded in police custody for different terms.

The accident has prompted widespread calls for improving safety situation in the sector. The European Union has threatened to reconsider Bangladesh’s duty-free access to the market in the continent. Several US lawmakers also urged its government to reconsider its GSP agreement with Bangladesh.

Bangladesh, the second largest exporter of readymade garments after China, is an attractive destination for famous retailers due to its cheap labour. The sector contributes up to 80 percent to the nation’s export income. It has been criticised for lax security measures, poor working conditions and low-payment to workers who get as little as $38 a month.

The $20 billion sector has been plagued by accidents. In November last year a devastating fire at Tazreen Fashions Limited had killed over 110 workers which followed a flurry of promises to improve working conditions and heightening safety standards at factories but little has been done.

In 2005, the collapse of another building housing a factory near the capital had killed over 70 people.

However, the recent building collapse brought the safety issues in the spotlight. British retailer Primark on Apr 29 said it would compensate Savar victims. Other companies like JC Penney, Benetton, and Sears -- all of which source clothes from Bangladesh -- have reaffirmed their support for workers’ safety and monitoring conditions in the country.

The Walt Disney Company has stopped sourcing of branded merchandise from Bangladesh, in the wake of a series of factory disasters that reflect poorly on the safety situation in the workplaces, media reports say.