BANGLADESH: Dozens rescued, hundreds missing, as Bangladesh toll tops 270

Record ID: 216364

  • Title: BANGLADESH: Dozens rescued, hundreds missing, as Bangladesh toll tops 270
  • Date: 26th April 2013
  • Summary: SAVAR, BANGLADESH (APRIL 26,2013) (REUTERS) RESIDENTS LOOKING AT COLLAPSED BUILDING VOLUNTEERS CLIMBING DOWN LADDER PEOPLE STANDING ON GAS CYLINDERS RESCUE WORKERS STANDING AROUND BUILDING SECURITY PERSONNEL MOVING WOMEN AWAY FROM SITE WOMAN HOLDING UP A PICTURE OF HER HUSBAND WHO SHE WAS LOOKING FOR, AS SHE WALKS AWAY MAN HOLDS UP A PICTURE OF HIS WIFE, WHO HE IS LOOKIN
  • Embargoed: 11th May 2013 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Bangladesh
  • Country: Bangladesh
  • Topics: Disasters
  • Reuters ID: LVA1IZP09RX7DCSNAECKBLK1XHTK
  • Story Text: The search for survivors from Bangladesh's worst industrial accident stretched into a third day on Friday (April 26), with the death toll rising to 273 after the collapse of a building housing factories that made low-cost garments for Western brands.
    Forty one people trapped inside the rubble of the eight-storey building were rescued alive late on Thursday (April 25), government minister Jahangir Kabir Nanak said, about 40 hours after the disaster on the outskirts of Dhaka.
    Nanak said they had been working on the fourth floor of the Rana Plaza building and had all been found trapped in one room. Few other details were available.
    Two more people were pulled alive from the wreckage of the collapsed building on Friday, video footage showed.
    Around 2,000 people have been rescued over the past two days, at least half of them injured, but as many as 1,000 people are still unaccounted for.
    An industry official has said 3,122 people, mainly female garment workers, were inside the building despite warnings that it was structurally unsafe.
    Rescuers from Bangladesh's army, navy and air force, as well as police and fire services, sifted through huge piles of rubble and twisted metal in the search for survivors, using their bare hands as well as mechanical equipment.
    One fireman said they had pulled out 35 people on Thursday, 25 of whom were alive.
    "All we all firemen are working here day and night, and last night we rescued 35, among them 25 were alive. And still we are trying rescue people and we will remain here until we rescue everyone," Saiful Islam said.
    Officials have conceded that the chances of finding more alive were fading.
    One army officer said there were more survivors to be found.
    "Many people are still alive. We are trying to bring them out," Aziz said, adding "42 people are still alive, 42."
    Wednesday's (April 24) disaster refocused attention on Western high-street brands that use Bangladesh as a source of low-cost goods.
    North American and European chains, including British retailer Primark and Canada's Loblaw, said they were supplied by factories in the Rana Plaza building, which is in the commercial suburb of Savar, about 30 km (20 miles) from the capital.
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