BANGLADESH: At least 76 people are killed and hundreds injured when a block housing factories and a shopping centre collapses on the outskirts of the Bangladeshi capital - UPDATE

Record ID: 216361

  • Title: BANGLADESH: At least 76 people are killed and hundreds injured when a block housing factories and a shopping centre collapses on the outskirts of the Bangladeshi capital - UPDATE
  • Date: 24th April 2013
  • Summary: DHAKA, BANGLADESH (APRIL 24, 2013) (REUTERS) COLLAPSED BUILDING RESCUE WORKERS CARRYING INJURED MAN AN EXCAVATOR REMOVING RUBBLE VARIOUS OF EMERGENCY CREWS WORKING VARIOUS OF PEOPLE BEING RESCUED SOLDIERS RESCUING WOMAN FIREMEN CARRY INJURED PERSON VARIOUS OF RESCUED WORKERS FROM FACTORY A MAN WEEPS AS HIS WIFE WAS INSIDE THE FACTORY RELATIVES TAKING TO RESCUED WOMAN (SO
  • Embargoed: 9th May 2013 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Bangladesh
  • Country: Bangladesh
  • Topics: Accidents
  • Reuters ID: LVA9W1RZC7DTL8AJLBPJ6YWK5PEH
  • Story Text: An eight-storey block housing factories and a shopping centre collapsed on the outskirts of the Bangladeshi capital on Wednesday (April 24) , killing at least 76 people and injuring hundreds, a government official said.
    Fire fighters and army personnel worked frantically through the morning at the Rana Plaza building in Savar, 30 km (19 miles) outside Dhaka, to rescue people trapped inside.
    One fireman told Reuters that about 2,000 people were in the building when the upper floors jolted down on top of each other.

    "My wife came to this factory to work in the morning. After learning that the building collapsed, I rushed here looking for my wife, but until now I haven't found her," said Siraj Miah who was among the crowds.
    M.M. Niazuddin, the government's health secretary, told Reuters that at least 76 people were confirmed dead. Another official said hundreds were being treated for injuries.
    Mohammad Asaduzzaman, in charge of the area's police station, said factory owners appeared to have ignored a warning not to allow their workers into the building after a crack was detected in the block on Tuesday (April 23).
    Bangladesh's booming garment industry has been plagued by fires and other accidents for years despite a drive to improve safety standards. In November last year, 112 workers were killed in a blaze at a factory in an industrial suburb of Dhaka.
    Buildings in Dhaka are sometimes erected without permission and many do not comply with construction regulations. Dozens died when a garment factory collapsed in the same area eight years ago.
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