The death toll from the disastrous Rana Plaza collapse climbed to 1042 with the recovery of 17 more bodies in four hours till Friday noon. The 17 bodies were pulled out of the ruins from 8.00pm on Thursday to 12.00pm on Friday, said General Commanding Officer of the 9th Infantry
Division Major General Chowdhury Hasan Sarwardi.Of the retrieved bodies,717 have been handed over to the families and kept at the morgues of Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH) and Mitford Medical College Hospital. A total of 131 bodies were lying at Adhor Chandra High School ground.
Besides, 156 bodies were handed over to Anjuman-e-Mofidul Islam, a charitable organisation, for burial as those were decomposed beyond recognition.
Rescuers tried to identify the victims by using their mobile phones or identity cards found in their pockets.
The rescuers were also seen falling sick inhaling ordour coming out from the decomposed bodies they recovered.
Two such rescue workers were admitted to Enam Medical College Hospital.
Savar Upazila Nirbahi Officer Quamrul Islam Mollah on Thursday requested the relatives of those missing in the building collapse to go to the DMCH to give their DNA samples.
Meanwhile, the officials and workers of a garment factory owned by Sharmin Group donated their one day’s salary amounting to Tk31 lakh to the disaster relief fund of the Bangladesh Garment Manufactures and Exporters Association for the Savar victims. A total of 2,437 people were rescued alive from the rubble of the Rana Plaza that came down crashing on April 24. Of them, nine succumbed to their injuries at different
hospitals.
-With The Independent input
