Siddique Islam (National News Service) Dhaka, Wednesday, April 13: rescuers dug out four more bodies from the rubble of a garment factory that collapsed at Saver Monday last, taking the confirmed death toll to 30 Wednesday, with 100 or more people feared trapped inside.
Thousands of people -- relatives and neighbours -- kept at bay by security personnel, still wait. As bodies are pulled out and carried to a wooden platform in an adjacent field, the relatives rush for identification. Several hundred fire fighters, army personnel, RAB members and policemen are working round the clock to clear the rubble.
Rescuers had pulled out more than 100 people alive from the mountainous pile of concrete slabs and bricks, by cutting holes from the top and using sniffer dogs. Two people emerged alive late on Tuesday.
The rescuers pumped oxygen and dropped water bottles through peepholes for presumed survivors, although chances of finding more people alive were fading fast, rescue officials said.
On Wednesday, many rescuers put on masks as rotting smells started coming from under the debris.
"We are keeping hope against hope. It is possible some people may still be waiting to be rescued but chances are dimming," a rescue official observed.
The factory produces clothes for export, including to the United States. The textile industry is one of Bangladesh's most important, accounting for more than $5 billion in exports annually -- two-thirds of the country's total exports.
Meanwhile, a number of foreign buyers, mainly in Europe and US asked garments industry owners to inquire of the reason of building-crumbled and also to check if everything is okay with their deals, some factory owners told The Daily Star, a local leading daily Tuesday. (End/si)
