Four held as Bangladesh death toll rises to 341

Written By Unknown on Sabtu, 27 April 2013 | 22.40

Two factory bosses and two engineers have been arrested in Bangladesh three days after the collapse of a building, as the death toll rose to 341.

As many as 900 people could still be missing, police said.

The owner of the eight-storey building that fell like a pack of cards around more than 3,000 workers was still on the run.

Police said several of his relatives were detained to compel him to hand himself in, and an alert had gone out to airport and border authorities to prevent him from fleeing the country.

Officials said Rana Plaza, on the outskirts of the capital, Dhaka, had been built without the correct permits, and the workers were allowed in on Wednesday despite warnings the previous day that it was structurally unsafe.

Two engineers involved in building the complex were also arrested at their homesy, Dhaka district police chief Habibur Rahman said.

He said they were arrested for dismissing a warning not to open the building after a jolt was felt and cracks were noticed on some pillars the previous day.

The owner and managing director of the largest of the five factories in the complex, New Wave Style, surrendered to the country's garment industry association during the night and they were handed over to police.

The factory, which listed many European and North American retailers as its customers, occupied upper floors of the building that officials said had been added illegally.

"Everyone involved - including the designer, engineer, and builders - will be arrested for putting up this defective building," said junior internal affairs minister Shamsul Huq.

An alliance of leftist parties which is part of the ruling coalition said it would call a national strike on 2 May if all those responsible for the disaster were not arrested by tomorrow.

Mr Rahman identified the owner of the building as Mohammed Sohel Rana, a leader of the ruling Awami League's youth front.

"People are asking for his head, which is quite natural," said HT Imam, an adviser to the prime minister.

Wednesday's collapse was the third major industrial incident in five months in Bangladesh, the second-largest exporter of garments in the world. In November, a fire at the Tazreen Fashion factory nearby the latest disaster killed 112 people.

Such incidents have raised serious questions about worker safety and low wages, and could taint the reputation of the poor South Asian country, which relies on garments for 80 percent of its exports.

Anger over the working conditions of Bangladesh's 3.6 million garment workers - most of whom are women - has grown since the disaster, triggering protests.

Hundreds were on the streets again on Saturday, smashing and burning cars and sparking more battles with police, who responded with tear gas and rubber bullets. Eyewitnesses said dozens of people were injured in the latest clashes.

Remarkably, people were still being pulled alive from the precarious mound of rubble - 21 in all since dawn today.


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