Many more victims still trapped in the rubble
AT LEAST 175 mainly women workers were killed in a Bangladesh building collapse and rescuers searching for survivors said today that many more were trapped in the rubble of a complex that housed factories supplying Western clothes retailers.
The disaster, which comes five months after a factory fire that killed more than 100 people, could hurt Bangladesh’s reputation as a source of lowcost goods and call attention to European and North American companies that buy products there.
Rescue workers were digging through the wreckage of the eight-storey Rana Plaza building in Savar, 30km outside the capital Dhaka, which collapsed yesterday. More than 1 000 people were injured. “The toll could go up as many are still trapped under the rubble,” Dhaka’s district police chief, Habibur Rahman, said.
Dhaka city development authority filed a case against the building’s owner for faulty construction. It filed another case against the owner and the five garment factories for causing unlawful death.
Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association ( BGMEA) president Mohammad Atiqul Islam said there were 3 122 workers in the factories yesterday. He said there had been indications from local officials that cracks had been found in the building the day before. “We asked the garment owners to keep it closed,” Islam said.
Rana Plaza’s owner had told proprietors of the building’s five garment factories that the cracks were not dangerous, Islam added. “After getting the green signal from the plaza owner all the garment factories opened,” he said.
However, police official Mohammad Asaduzzaman said factory owners appeared to have ignored a warning not to allow their workers into the building after a crack was detected on Tuesday.
News reports beamed around the world showed young women workers, some apparently semi-conscious, being pulled out of the rubble by firefighters and troops. Doctors at Dhaka hospitals said they couldn’t cope with the number of victims.
“I was at work on the third floor, and then suddenly I heard a deafening sound, but couldn’t understand what was happen- ing. I ran and was hit by something on my head,” said factory worker Zohra Begum.
The Rana Plaza building collapse follows a fire at the Tazreen Fashion factory on the outskirts of Dhaka that killed 112 people in November and another incident at a factory in January in which seven people died, compounding concerns about worker safety and low wages in Bangladesh.
UK clothing retailer Primark confirmed that one of its suppliers occupied the second floor of the building. “The company is shocked and deeply saddened by this appalling incident at Savar, near Dhaka, and expresses its condolences to all involved,” Primark said.
Canada’s Loblaw, a unit of food processing and distribution firm George Weston, also confirmed a connection with the building. It said one factory made a small number of Joe Fresh apparel items for the company.
Both companies operate codes of conduct aimed at ensuring products are made in good working conditions.
Documents, including order sheets and cutting plans obtained by the media, appeared to show that other major clothing brands such as Spain’s Mango and Benetton had used suppliers in the building in re- cent months. A Benetton spokesman said none of the factories were suppliers to the company.
After the Tazreen fire, US retailer Walmart said it would take steps to alleviate safety concerns, while Gap announced a four-step fire-safety programme.
“Still we’re struggling to overcome the odds after the Tazreen fire, now another incident which is a blow for the sector,” BGMEA’s Islam said.
However, Edward Hertzman, a sourcing agent based in New York who also publishes trade magazine Sourcing Journal, said pressure from US retailers to keep a lid on costs continues to foster unsafe conditions.
Hertzman, whose trade publication has offices in Bangladesh, said New Wave Bottoms occupied the second floor, Phantom Apparels the third, Phantom Tack the fourth and Ethar Textile the fifth.
The New Wave website listed 27 main buyers, including firms from Britain, Denmark, France, Germany, Spain, Ireland, Canada and the US. – Reuters