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Dhaka: More than 100
people were killed and over 600 injured Wednesday when an eight-storeyed
building crumbled on the outskirts of capital Dhaka. Rescued
workers complained they were forced to get back to work though the
building was evacuated just a day earlier after cracks appeared.
Those trapped under the rubble screamed for help as rescuers
scrambled to get them out.
The building, "Rana Plaza", collapsed around 8:45 a.m. It housed a
market, several garment factories and a bank branch.
The building was found to have developed cracks Tuesday, and a day
later, it went down in a huge heap of rubble, blocks of cement and
bricks.
At least 107 people were killed and over 600 injured in the
building collapse, reported the Daily Star.
Nearly 150 people were pulled out of the rubble alive.
Sohel Rana, a local who rescued several people by breaking open a
window, said that cries for help were heard from under the rubble
of the building.
The crash took place eight years after the collapse of Spectrum
Garments in Baipail in Savar, which left 64 workers dead.
There are at least 107 bodies at Enam Medical College and Hospital
in Savar where the victims were taken, chief medical officer of
the hospital was quoted as saying.
Many workers, who were rescued, told the media that the owners of
their garment factories forced them to return to work Wednesday
morning.
The workers were hesitating to rejoin work in the morning after
they were evacuated on Tuesday after several cracks were detected
in the building.
Fire fighters and army personnel joined police and volunteers to
rescue those trapped under the debris.
Families and relatives of the missing persons gathered in large
numbers in front of the building. Fearing the worst, most of them
were wailing.
Home Minister Muhiuddin Khan Alamgir said that the "building might
have collapsed due to faulty construction".
He added the government would bring the culprits to justice after
probing the accident.
President-elect Abdul Hamid, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and
opposition leader Khaleda Zia in separate messages condoled the
deaths.
Following the building collapse, the Bangladesh Nationalist
Party-led 18-party alliance at first relaxed their hartal (strike)
in Savar and eventually called off their 36-hour countrywide
shutdown.
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