Owner escapes unhurt

Rana Plaza owner Sohel Rana escaped unhurt and was taken away by local MP from the basement of the building hours after the 9-storied building collapsed on Wednesday.

Sohel Rana had confined inside for fear of facing public outrage.

He called up his party leaders and later local MP Talukdar Mohammad Towhid Jung Murad escorted him away around 9:30am,bdnews24.com Correspondent at scene reported.

Sohail Rana was unhurt, though scores were left dead and hundreds were injured in the collapse, his close friend Advocate Masud Chowdhury confirmed.

Masud parked his private car at basement (garage) of the building – which also housed Rana’s office. Masud was trapped in the morning when he went there to take out his car.

“The building started to cave in from behind. My car was crumbled in concrete. I was safe.”

Sohel Rana was also with Masud at the moment.

Though the ceiling of the building crashed in on Tuesday afternoon, its owner municipality Juba League Senior Joint Convenor Mohammad Sohel Rana had said, “ There was no major problem of the building. Only a bit of plaster fell off. This is nothing serious.”

However, local Engineer Abdur Razzaq had said the building was 'dangerous' and suggested to bring in experts from Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET) for a structural check.

Scores of people were killed when the Rana Plaza caved in around 8:30am on Wednesday.

Over 6,000 workers were believed to have been employed in the ready-made garment factories housed inside the building.

Police said the factories were running when the building caved in.