Bangladesh ends collapse search, agony for relatives

DHAKA - Agence France-Presse

A woman holds up photo a of a missing relative trapped in the ruins. AFP photo

Bangladesh’s army wrapped up its search yesterday for bodies in a collapsed nine-storey building outside the capital as dozens of people were still gathered at the site for news of their missing relatives.

Clutching laminated photos of their wives or sisters or daughters, the relatives then queued at a government office to register the names of the missing as the authorities fenced off the site in the town of Savar.

“We’re listing the names of missing people. We’ve opened a control room for them,” government administrator of the district Kamrul Hasan Molla told Agence France-Presse, adding there were “around 100 people” seeking news of their relatives.

‘No chance’ of finding anyone in ruins

The army said there was no chance of finding any more bodies in the ruins of the former Rana Plaza complex which imploded on April 24.

A total of 1,127 people are now known to have died in the collapse, making it one of the world’s deadliest industrial disasters.

Police have arrested 12 people over the tragedy, including the owner of the building and four factory owners who are accused of forcing staff to return to work a day after cracks emerged in the structure, prompting evacuation.

Authorities say a total of 2,438 people were rescued from the building, including an 18-year-old called Reshma who was pulled from the rubble 17 days after the disaster.