Bangladesh Building Collapse Leaves Dozens Dead, Thousands Injured

A factory building in the outskirts of Bangladesh’s capital, Dhaka collapsed Wednesday, leaving many workers trapped and several others injured.

The death toll has dramatically risen to 160 with a reported number of at least a thousand people still inside.

Rescue teams still struggle to look for survivors caught in the wreckage of the eight-story building that once housed a number of garment factories with hundreds of employees. Searchers use drilling machines to cut through the concrete. They also pass water and flashlight to the workers still pinned inside.

Workers of the building earlier said some of them did not want to enter the building because it already developed large cracks, but their managers assured them the cracks were nothing to be worried about. Hours later, the building just came tumbling down.

The incident sparked the pressing issue of the unsafe working environment of Bangladeshi factory workers, taking note of the factory fire that killed at least a hundred in November.

Home Minister Muhiuddin Khan Alamgir said the building went against some of the construction codes and thus, the ones responsible would be duly punished.

According to local police Chief Mohammaed Asaduzzaman, Bangladesh authorities and the government’s Capital Development Authority have already filed charges of negligence against the building owner.

Sources: huffingtonpost.com, news.sky.com, edition.cnn.com