Bangladesh Rescue Operation Ends with 1,127 Dead
Rescue and recovery workers are shutting down the search for survivors of the Bangladesh factory collapse, as officials don't expect to find anymore bodies—dead or alive—inside the rubble. At last count, the official death toll was 1,127, with more than 2,400 hundred survivors, many of them maimed or severely injured, escaping with their lives.
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The eight-story building collapsed on April 24 and at times during the 19-day recovery operation, rescuers were pulling out hundreds of dead bodies per day. However, workers hauling away the debris have reached the building's basement where they do not expect to find any more victims. No new bodies were recovered on Monday, and authorities say the operation will completely cease by the end of the day or on Tuesday morning.
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The last victim to be pulled out alive, who was rescued on Friday, survived an astonishing 17 days inside the collapsed wreckage, but is reportedly in good health and recovering well.
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Here's how a photo of the building looked on the day of the collapse...
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Here's the scene today:
What remains now is an industry plagued by disaster and in need of reform. After one of the worst tragedies in the history of any industry, will real improvements in worker condition (and better enforcement of safety regulations) be on the way or will it be business as usual once the anger dies down? Perhaps the future murder trial of the building's owner will keep the issue alive long enough for real changes to take place.
