Savar (Bangladesh): Bangladesh's Health Minister says 70 people have been confirmed dead in the collapse of a building housing several garment factories near the capital. Health Minister AFM Ruhal Haque said that by Wednesday afternoon 70 bodies had been removed from the eight-story building. Rescuers said they had saved 600 other people from the rubble, but feared more remained inside.
An eight-story building housing several garment factories collapsed near Bangladesh's capital on Wednesday morning. Tens of thousands of people gathered at the site, some of them weeping survivors, some searching for family members. The collapse stirred memories of a fatal fire in a garment factory in November that killed 112 people and raised an outcry about safety in the nation's garment industry.
The collapse happened about 8:30 am and since garment factories in the area routinely work 24 hours a day, it appeared likely that the four housed in the building were staffed at the time.
Firefighters and soldiers using drilling machines and cranes worked together with local volunteers in the search for other survivors from the building, which pancaked onto itself and stood only about two stories tall.
The November fire at the Tazreen garment factory drew international attention to the conditions workers toil under in the $20 billion-a-year textile industry in Bangladesh. The country has about 4,000 garment factories and exports clothes to leading Western retailers. The industry wields vast power in the South Asian nation.
Tazreen lacked emergency exits and its owner said only three floors of the eight-story building were legally built. Surviving employees said gates had been locked and managers had told them to go back to work after the fire alarm went off. The factory made clothes for Wal-Mart, Disney and other Western brands.
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