Rescue team recovered at least 61 more bodies from the debris of collapsed Rana Plaza building in Savar on Thursday, raising the death toll in the disaster to 938 on the 16th day of the incident.
Of the recovered corpses, 665 were handed over to the families while 98 have been kept on Savar Adhar Chandra Model High School ground. Confirming the death toll and body handover, Army control room said 61 more decomposed bodies were recovered.
Earlier, fire fighters, Red Crescent men, led by Army, recovered 115 more bodies from the debris from 6:00am Wednesday to 6:00am Thursday.
Rescuers feared that more bodies still remained trapped under the collapsed building.
Seventy-nine unidentified bodies so far, after taking DNA samples, have been buried at Jurain Graveyard so that family members of the dead can later find them.
Most of the bodies recovered on Thursday were decomposed and beyond recognition.
A total of 2,437 people have been rescued alive so far from the rubble of the building. Of them, nine succumbed to their injuries at different hospitals.
The 2nd phase of the rescue operation using heavy equipment continued for the 10th consecutive day today (Thursday).
Meanwhile, General Officer Commanding (GOC) of the 9th Infantry Division Major General Chowdhury Hasan Sarwardi, who is coordinating the rescue operation, at a press briefing said the 2nd phase rescue operation might be completed within two days.
The eight-storey building came down crashing on April 24.
-With The Independent input
