Rescuers retrieved over 70 more bodies from the rubble of the ill-fated 'Rana Plaza' in Savar on Friday, taking the death toll to 525 so far.
Published : 03 May 2013, 06:17 AM
These bodies were recovered until the evening after the second phase of the rescue operation started at midnight with heavy earth-removing machines. The figure was posted at 10pm on the board of the control room set up at the Adhar Chandra High School ground.
General Officer Commanding of the 9th Infantry Division Major General Chowdhury Hasan Suhrawardy had said the bodies which were recovered in the morning had been sent to Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH) morgue.
He said 2,437 people had been rescued alive from the rubble of the collapsed multi-storey building.
The recovered bodies are kept in the Adhar Chandra School ground for identification, Sub-Inspector Jalal Talukder told bdnews24.com from the control room opened at the school to provide information.
After confirmation of their identity, the dead bodies are being handed over to their relatives, Talukder said.
Of the bodies, 431 have been handed over to the relatives until Friday evening, said SI Farid Uddin.
Hundreds holding photographs of near and dear ones were still hunting for friends and relatives possibly buried under the rubble of the collapsed Rana Plaza building.
Several decomposed bodies have earlier 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 midnight.
The concrete slabs are being removed one by one and the debris is being dumped at the Bongshi River by trucks.
Maj Gen Suhrawardy told reporters on Friday he expected none to be alive under the rubble eight days after the building collapsed.
"The bodies are being recovered very carefully. Or else, it will not be possible to bring out those unhurt."
He said that the rescue operation would continue until all the bodies are recovered from the debris.
Confusion continues over the exact number of people still missing in Bangladesh's worst-ever industrial disaster.
Maj Gen Suhrawardy told reporters on May 1 that only 149 people were still missing.