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Rana Plaza Collapse (huge life losses)

Officially 451 dead-bodies recovered so far. According to 9th div GOC 149 are missing (compare with 1300 approx ).

When the first phase of search & rescue operation ended death toll was 398, then all volunteers were taken out of the site and within 12 hrs death toll decreased from 398 to 350.

For Tazreen the real death toll was 10 fold than the published one. Govt. created pressure to start phase 2 rescue operation that we assumed army was in hurry. I clearly remember army said they would run the phase 1 until there's a possibility of a single life inside the ruins. There was huge unrest in local people as well as all media after army cordoned the place for phase 2, at that moment they seemed to be in hurry.
 
For Tazreen the real death toll was 10 fold than the published one. Govt. created pressure to start phase 2 rescue operation that we assumed army was in hurry. I clearly remember army said they would run the phase 1 until there's a possibility of a single life inside the ruins. There was huge unrest in local people as well as all media after army cordoned the place for phase 2, at that moment they seemed to be in hurry.

Watch this video where some rescue workers said several times they had been forced to come out though there had been people still alive. https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=459470017469207

BTW, do you know anything about this Savar GOC?
 
Western companies will not withdraw completely. They may limit orders to more established companies that have better safety and labor practices.

I am guessing that these companies and buying houses will start looking at building design and their structural soundness, fire safety etc., before placing orders.

Also, some loss of business will prompt govt. and BGMEA to improve the situation.

In the long term, this disaster could become an opportunity to build a more sound infrastructure and thus a better foundation base to build a much bigger garment industry in Bangladesh. That should be a fitting tribute to the victims.

I was actually thinking of working places pattern...the factory itself. There are some strong points to be considered before enacting some new safety standards. I'm dubious about their implementation.

Just have an image search with the word factory , what do you get? Lots of factory images which make a clear view in you about how a factory could be. Following is such one image:

250px-Wolfsburg_VW-Werk.jpg


What we see in Bangladesh? All garment factories are multi-storied, housing more than thousand workers on a single floor. Each floor having some hundred sewing machines which are constantly creating vibration directly affecting the building. If there are five floors in a garment factory building with 200 machines on each floor, it's one thousand in total. One thousand machines are then creating the vibration at a time.

Besides, there are generators. On the rooftop of Rana Plaza there were 5 heavy generators and 2 medium generators which had a great contribution in collapsing the building. Generally, not abiding by the building codes doesn't result in collapsing the entire building. Old town is a big example. Also, there are many such buildings which are not collapsing being used for residential purpose. Following is a multi-storied Bangladeshi garment building:

r


Now my question- no one is demanding a single factory structure standard for garments industry where other than floor wise establishments it'll be only on earth not impacting the building with vibration. We have lots of pharmaceutical factories, we never get news of disaster because all of them are real factories not factories on a commercial space. I'm not sure if there are any examples available around the world like garments factories in Bangladesh which are multi-storey based that should have been either residential or commercial spaces. Hope people here will share their knowledge on this.

All the buyers, big brands are now talking about safety like fire exit but nowhere I've seen this issue. Is it something they (both Bangladeshi labor rights guys and foreign buyers) are intentionally trying to avoid because this issue might increase the production cost 2/3 times or really people are missing this point?
 
Watch this video where some rescue workers said several times they had been forced to come out though there had been people still alive. https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=459470017469207

BTW, do you know anything about this Savar GOC?

i think armed forces are concerned about them too, from Armed forces point of view they are civil people, so if those guys get injured there will be more civilian casualties which is not acceptable for armed forces.
 
Watch this video where some rescue workers said several times they had been forced to come out though there had been people still alive. https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=459470017469207

BTW, do you know anything about this Savar GOC?

No I don't know about him, but that guy was saying on TV that until one life is there phase 1 of rescue operation continue. I personally don't blame army. They do many things from govt. pressure. BAL/BNP polarizations don't work that much in their thinking way but they are helpless at some point for b$stard politicians. Just notice one thing...Nanak was all the time there. It has two views, he tried to be with the people, a great gesture by the govt. On the other hand, perhaps this guy was dictating about phase 1 and 2 of rescue operations.
 
I was actually thinking of working places pattern...the factory itself. There are some strong points to be considered before enacting some new safety standards. I'm dubious about their implementation.

Just have an image search with the word factory , what do you get? Lots of factory images which make a clear view in you about how a factory could be. Following is such one image:

250px-Wolfsburg_VW-Werk.jpg


What we see in Bangladesh? All garment factories are multi-storied, housing more than thousand workers on a single floor. Each floor having some hundred sewing machines which are constantly creating vibration directly affecting the building. If there are five floors in a garment factory building with 200 machines on each floor, it's one thousand in total. One thousand machines are then creating the vibration at a time.

Besides, there are generators. On the rooftop of Rana Plaza there were 5 heavy generators and 2 medium generators which had a great contribution in collapsing the building. Generally, not abiding by the building codes doesn't result in collapsing the entire building. Old town is a big example. Also, there are many such buildings which are not collapsing being used for residential purpose. Following is a multi-storied Bangladeshi garment building:

r


Now my question- no one is demanding a single factory structure standard for garments industry where other than floor wise establishments it'll be only on earth not impacting the building with vibration. We have lots of pharmaceutical factories, we never get news of disaster because all of them are real factories not factories on a commercial space. I'm not sure if there are any examples available around the world like garments factories in Bangladesh which are multi-storey based that should have been either residential or commercial spaces. Hope people here will share their knowledge on this.

All the buyers, big brands are now talking about safety like fire exit but nowhere I've seen this issue. Is it something they (both Bangladeshi labor rights guys and foreign buyers) are intentionally trying to avoid because this issue might increase the production cost 2/3 times or really people are missing this point?

Actually old multi-story factory buildings are very common in older parts of Chicago and other big older US cities. For sewing machines, multi-story factory is ok, as long as heavy machinery is placed on ground floor. The biggest factor is making sure that building is properly designed and properly constructed according to design with proper materials. None of this happened in case of this building, it was not properly designed and not properly constructed. Not sure if the sub-soil was properly tested and pile's were used in subsoil to ensure that the foundations could bear the load put on them.

For sewing machines and similar light machinery, high rise building is not a problem, following proper design and construction codes is the real problem, as far as I can tell.

889962984_30078102ae_z.jpg

American Apparels factory in Los Angeles
 
Actually old multi-story factory buildings are very common in older parts of Chicago and other big older US cities. For sewing machines, multi-story factory is ok, as long as heavy machinery is placed on ground floor. The biggest factor is making sure that building is properly designed and properly constructed according to design with proper materials. None of this happened in case of this building, it was not properly designed and not properly constructed. Not sure if the sub-soil was properly tested and pile's were used in subsoil to ensure that the foundations could bear the load put on them.

For sewing machines and similar light machinery, high rise building is not a problem, following proper design and construction codes is the real problem, as far as I can tell.

889962984_30078102ae_z.jpg

American Apparels factory in Los Angeles

And for fire safety and fire escape, they need systems like these:

220px-Sprinkler.jpg

images

11887_5060985851.jpg

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ace-r.jpg
 
Here is witch Hasina interview taken by CNN Amanpour:

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=10200496679973886

Actually old multi-story factory buildings are very common in older parts of Chicago and other big older US cities. For sewing machines, multi-story factory is ok, as long as heavy machinery is placed on ground floor. The biggest factor is making sure that building is properly designed and properly constructed according to design with proper materials. None of this happened in case of this building, it was not properly designed and not properly constructed. Not sure if the sub-soil was properly tested and pile's were used in subsoil to ensure that the foundations could bear the load put on them.

For sewing machines and similar light machinery, high rise building is not a problem, following proper design and construction codes is the real problem, as far as I can tell.

889962984_30078102ae_z.jpg

American Apparels factory in Los Angeles

Just have a comparison between the two factory buildings posted by you and me. Hope, things will be clear then. The one you posted clearly shows it's a factory building and the one I posted looks like a commercial one...no?

Besides, 4/5 storied long factory buildings simply will not be on risk whereas high rise ones like Bangladeshi garment fastories will be.
 
BBC News - Dhaka Rana Plaza survivor's search for missing sister

2 May 2013 Last updated at 10:58 GMT
Article written by Andrew North
South Asia correspondent

Halima Akhtar, 14, was trapped with her sister when the building collapsed
Dhaka collapse

"It felt like judgement day," says Halima Akhter, as she remembers the moment when the roof fell in at her clothing factory in the Rana Plaza complex outside Dhaka last week.

"I have seen my grave," she continues as she recounts being trapped under the rubble - before her relief at being rescued 24 hours later.

But her sister was not so lucky.

Hamida was a sewing machine operator in the same New Wave Styles factory, working just feet away.

Vital income
Together Halima says they made clothes for brands like Britain's Primark, Italy's Benetton and Canada's Loblaws, often working 14-hour shifts for about $62 (£40) a month.

"All the time there was pressure to meet deadlines," she says. Other workers have given similar accounts.

But those regular salaries transformed her family's fortunes, with their father earning little from his job as a fruit-seller.


The BBC has seen estimates that say up to 1,300 people are still missing
"I cried out Hamida's name after the building came down," she says, "but I couldn't see her."

Halima and her family still have no idea what happened to her.

A week since the disaster, Hamida Akhter is one of many workers still unaccounted for - in addition to more than 400 confirmed dead.

Just how many has become increasingly sensitive, as the fallout from the disaster continues to spread both here and abroad.

Claims from the Bangladeshi military that 149 now remain unaccounted for were greeted with howls of scepticism. NGOs have compiled similar figures suggesting at least 1,000 people still have to be found and the BBC has seen estimates as chigh as 1,300.

“
Start Quote

No one can do it as cheap”

Mohammed Quader
Commerce minister
The Bangladeshi opposition have seized on the issue, accusing the government of a cover-up.

But "the higher figures have been inflated", says Brig Gen Siddiqul Alam Sikder, who is overseeing the recovery operation. In the chaos, he says many reports of missing people "were counted many times" as families went from place to place trying to find loved ones.

Reeling industry
No one can know until the wreckage is cleared - and the mechanical diggers have yet to penetrate the pancake of concrete in the middle.

With hundreds of factories closed since the disaster because of strikes and protests, the industry is reeling.

“
Start Quote

Western retailers with offices here insist they have been trying hard to improve standards - though few are willing to go on the record”


Andrew North
South Asia correspondent
Read more from Andrew
"This has given us a bad name," admits the commerce minister Mohammed Quader, who oversees the garment industry.

Garment industry leaders have been meeting buyers, fearing they may start pulling out of Bangladesh and moving to places like Burma.

Ignored warnings
Mr Quader says the government "did not do enough" to discourage the worst practices in the business, as cut-throat operators have cashed in on the garment boom over the last decade.

But there have been plenty of safety warnings before - which critics say were largely ignored. Most recently there was last year's fire at the Tazreen factory, which killed at least 112 workers.


Stefan Strandlund of UK-based Wilson Imports called on the Bangladeshi government to take action to improve the industry
Primark and Loblaws are promising compensation to all families who lost relatives in factories in the Rana Plaza making their garments.

There are also now dozens of amputees who will need long-term help - some people could only be rescued by having their arms or feet cut off because they were trapped by heavy concrete.

But Western retailers with offices here insist they have been trying hard to improve standards - though few are willing to go on the record.

"We check our factories are compliant," says Stefan Strandlund, country manager for UK-based Wilson Imports, which works for several British brands. "You hope that what we are doing can be replicated by everyone else."

Workers in factories are paid an average of $62-69 (£40-45) a month, above the minimum wage of about $39 (£25) a month.

And he says that although that may not sound much to Western ears, "it can put food on the table, a roof over their head and send children to school because of the cheap cost of living."

Since the collapse, he has ordered checks on the structure of factories they use. He says the Bangladeshi government must work harder "to improve the industry" but says retailers also have the power to do more.

"But then", he asks rhetorically, "Is the customer willing to pay more?"


Order sheets with Primark's name now litter the wreckage
The bottom line is still price. And that is Bangladesh's advantage says Mr Quader. "No-one can do it as cheap."

Every day now, Halima's father Habibur Rehman, walks back to the ruined building hoping to find out something about Hamida.

Order sheets with Primark's name now litter the wreckage, with the smell of decaying corpses hanging in the air.

He joins hundreds of other relatives making the same grim search, from hospitals to a school that's serving as a temporary morgue.

Halima remembers chatting to her sister that morning last Wednesday. "She was saying how good the mangoes were this year."

Moments later the building crashed down on their heads.
 
Vibration triggered collapse: probe - bdnews24.com

Vibration triggered collapse: probe
Staff Correspondent, bdnews24.com
Published: 02 May 2013 07:04 PM Updated: 02 May 2013 09:04 PM

A government enquiry has found use of substandard materials during the construction and heavy machinery in the five garment factories that it housed mainly triggered the collapse of Rana Plaza.

The committee formed by the Ministry of Home Affairs came up with its findings on Thursday.

The head of the investigation panel Main Uddin Khandaker told bdnews24.com that apart from the heavy machinery used by garment units, the vibration of the high-capacity generators set up on the top floor of the building also contributed to the collapse.

The worst industrial accident in Bangladesh has left 436 confirmed dead.

“The vibration of the generators jerked the building. This is one of the reasons for the building collapse.”

Khandaker, an Additional Secretary, said the generators were in operation when the huge structure came crushing down suddenly in the morning of Apr 23 in Savar.

Khandaker said the generator sets used by the factories were turned on after a power cut in the building around 8:30 am and that created a huge tremor, which led to the collapse.

The death toll from the horrific building collapse reached 436 with the recovery of 18 more bodies from the ruins on Thursday as the second phase of the rescue operation continued for the third consecutive day.

The investigation panel had been asked to submit its findings within seven working days, but the timeframe is likely to be extended since the second phase of the rescue operation to remove tones of concrete rubbles from the site of the collapsed building are still going on, Khandaker said.

The five-member committee was constituted soon after the mishap with Khandaker as its Convenor.

The other members are Dhaka district’s Superintendent of Police, Director of Ashulia Industrial Police, Additional Deputy Commissioner of Dhaka district and a Deputy/Senior Assistant Secretary of the Ministry of Home.

Khandaker said that the investigation report would be submitted after competition of the rescue operation.

Saying there were ‘significant progresses’ in their investigation, Khandaker said: “We have recorded statements of the victims and others concerned. We would also talk to those who have been arrested over the deadly incident.”

Police have already arrested building owner Sohel Rana, the owners of five garment units housed at his building, his father Abdul Khalek and three engineers of Savar Municipality responsible for overseeing buildings safety in the area.

Meanwhile another probe panel, constituted by Ministry of Local Government, to investigate into the collapse submitted its report on Thursday.

The committee in its finding charged Savar Municipality of “illegally clearing” the design and layout of the ill-fated building. It said that the Municipality did not follow proper procedures to clear the construction plan.

“The Mayor of Savar Municipality and officials approved construction of seventh to tenth floor by tampering the original design,” the committee said in its report, saying such action, “tantamount to negligence of duty, inefficiency and misuse of power.”

Savar Municipality Mayor M Refatullah was put under temporary suspension on Thursday for dereliction of duty.

The collapse has created concern about building safety in Dhaka as well as in other parts of the country as cracks have been noticed in several old structures across the country.

Home ministry official Khandaker said that a special panel was formed to identify such cracks-infested buildings.

He said that the Bangladesh Garment Manufactures and Exporters Association (BGMEA) received information about cracks developing in some 160 garment factories across the country.

“If cracks are found in any building in the areas under the jurisdiction of RAJUK, the inspection team of the development authority of Dhaka will visit the site, submit probe report and take measures accordingly,” he added.

For the areas outside Dhaka, a sub-committee would be formed comprising the Deputy Commissioner (DC) of the concerned district under the supervision of the Ministry of Labour and Employment.

In the wake of the Savar tragedy, the BGMEA has asked the authorities of all readymade garment factories to submit their structural design assessment and load management reports to it within a month so as to improve safety measures to prevent recurrence of such ‘accidents’ in future.

The apex organisation of the country’s garment industry also asked the owners of all garment units to shift generators to the ground floor.
 
Here is witch Hasina interview taken by CNN Amanpour:

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=10200496679973886
Buddy this lady is such a disgrace as a PM. She was completely subdued from the start of the interview and she became so angry at the later part of it. I felt so ashamed after watching this video that this dumba$$ represents us in the globe. I doubt if she really has a blood relations with Sk. Mujibur Rahman. This following video is of Sk. Mujib's interview with David Frost in 1972. David Frost was a very aggressive journalist of his times. But see how well the then president handles him and the journalist is talking with utmost respect. And look at what Hasina did with this CNN journalist.:hitwall:
Mujib with David Frost - YouTube
 
t-shirt-pic20130503050838.jpg


Buddy this lady is such a disgrace as a PM. She was completely subdued from the start of the interview and she became so angry at the later part of it. I felt so ashamed after watching this video that this dumba$$ represents us in the globe. I doubt if she really has a blood relations with Sk. Mujibur Rahman. This following video is of Sk. Mujib's interview with David Frost in 1972. David Frost was a very aggressive journalist of his times. But see how well the then president handles him and the journalist is talking with utmost respect. And look at what Hasina did with this CNN journalist.:hitwall:
Mujib with David Frost - YouTube

Can't see your video as it's youtube link.
 

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