Thursday, April 25, 2013

Forty found alive after Dhaka building collapse

BBC News online - 25 April 2013
Rescue workers search for trapped garment workers among the rubble of the collapsed Rana Plaza building Rescue efforts had been continuing since the collapse on Wednesday morning
Forty people have been found alive in a room in the ruins of a building on the outskirts of the Bangladeshi capital Dhaka, a day after it collapsed.

Bangladeshi television broadcast images of the operation at the site of the collapse in the Savar area, which killed more than 220 people.
It is thought many more people may still be unaccounted for.

Police said the owners of factories in the building had ignored warnings about cracks appearing on Tuesday.

Some 2,000 people were in the Rana Plaza building in Savar, some 30km (20 miles) outside Dhaka, when it collapsed suddenly on Wednesday morning.

At the scene

image of Anbarasan Ethirajan Anbarasan Ethirajan BBC News, Dhaka
Rescue teams have been frantically searching for survivors as they are aware that they are racing against time.
The heat and the dust could take its own toll. The broken concrete blocks are precariously placed and there are concerns for rescue workers as well.
When more people are pulled out alive, that gives lots of encouragement to the rescue workers, many of whom are local volunteers.
The collapse has already triggered anger among garment factory workers who were holding protests in some places in Dhaka. Garment factory owners and Western retailers are likely to face tough questions from labour rights campaigners in the coming weeks.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has said those thought to be responsible for the disaster, including the owner - who allegedly told workers to enter the building despite the cracks and has since fled - would be prosecuted.

"Wherever he is, he will be found and brought to justice," she told politicians.
There are reports that the building owner had illegally added three extra stories to the building.

Teams from the army, the fire service and border guards have been working around the clock at the site to find survivors, using heavy lifting gear, tools and their bare hands.

The news that 40 people had been found alive was greeted with jubilation at the scene, the BBC's Anbarasan Ethirajan reports.

One rescue official told the BBC that the group was found after they were heard screaming in the rubble.

The military said at least 12 of the group had since been pulled free.
Search teams have been dropping water bottles and food items to other survivors who are still trapped.

Garment is used to rescue a young woman.
One trapped man, Mohammad Altab, was able to speak to an Associated Press reporter, telling him he had two children.
"I want to live. It's so painful here," he said.

Another man, trapped deeper in the rubble, begged for rescue, telling the reporter: "It's hard to remain alive here. It would have been better to die than enduring such pain to live on."

Local hospitals have been overwhelmed with the arrival of more than 1,000 injured people.
Our correspondent says the rescuers intend to continue their operation for several days, but that they are aware time is now running out.

Bangladesh has one of the largest garment industries in the world, providing cheap clothing for major Western retailers which benefit from its widespread low-cost labour.

History of accidents in Bangladesh

  • Nov 2012 - More than 100 workers die in a fire at a factory in Dhaka suburb of Tazreen
  • March 2012 - More than 100 people die as a ferry collides with an oil tanker and sinks
  • June 2010 - Four-storey building in Dhaka caves in, killing at least 25 people
  • April 2005 A garment factory collapses in Savar, killing 73 people
  • May 2002 - Up to 500 people die when a river ferry sinks during a storm
Primark, a clothes retailer with a large presence in Britain, confirmed that one of its suppliers was on the second floor of the Rana Plaza, and said it would work with other retailers to review standards.

US discount giant Wal-Mart said it was still trying to establish whether its goods were being produced at the Rana Plaza.

A company called New Wave, with two factories in the building, supplies firms from around Europe, the US and Canada, while Spanish retailer Mango said it had been in production talks with a supplier at the factory.

Thousands of garment workers in other areas of Dhaka have taken to the streets and blocked roads to protest about the deaths of the workers in Savar.

Bangladesh's Daily Star newspaper reported that protesters had clashed with police, resulting in some injuries.

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posted by Pieface @ Thursday, April 25, 2013

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