Rescuers recovered another body from a collapsed building in the Bangladeshi capital on Monday, raising the death toll to 19, as Parliament passed a law imposing jail terms for building code violators, officials said.
Firefighters and soldiers found the body of 25-year-old construction worker Humayun while searching for survivors in the debris for the third consecutive day, Captain Moksed Ali, an army operation control room official, told The Associated Press.
Ali said no more survivors were found overnight.
Meanwhile, Parliament amended a building construction law late on Sunday, introducing a maximum jail term of seven years and a fine of up to 50 000 takas ($735) fine for violating building codes.
On Sunday, rescuers pulled two survivors from the rubble more than 24 hours after Saturday’s collapse.
Rescuers using bulldozers to lift concrete slabs heard a shout and found a man who gave his name only as Shakil trapped in a space below, fire brigade official Selim Newaz Bhuiyan said.
Shakil did not have any outward injuries, but was sent to a hospital for a check up, the official said.
About the same time, rescuers found Sumon Mia, a 32-year-old electrician, trapped in a space between two broken pillars on the ground floor of the collapsed building.
Mia, whose legs were badly injured, crawled toward a hole made by firefighters, who pulled him out, Bhuiyan said, adding he was being treated at a hospital in Dhaka.
Most of those injured or killed appeared to be construction workers who were adding a new storey to the 30-year-old factory, which was being converted into a 500-bed medical centre. Passing pedestrians were also among the victims.
Mia told his rescuers that he was working on the third floor with about a dozen others, and had just walked down to the first floor when he heard a loud bang and was engulfed in dust and darkness, Bhuiyan said.
Soldiers and firefighters were using bulldozers, drills, crowbars and search lights to clear away debris to look for more survivors or bodies. They also pumped oxygen through pipes and used bullhorns to alert any survivors.
But hopes of finding more survivors were fading fast.
”It will be a miracle if we find any more survivors,” said Brigadier General Nizam Ahmed, who is in charge of the rescue operation.
Initial estimates from witnesses said about 100 people were in the building when it came down, but Ahmed said on Sunday the number was likely less than a dozen.
Police detained an official of the Phoenix Group, which owns the building, and were searching for the company’s owner, said a duty officer at the Tejgaon Police Station on condition of anonymity in line with official policy. Police accuse the company of failing to enforce safety standards.
Emdadul Islam, the chief engineer of the Capital Development Authority, said the building may have collapsed because of faulty construction. – Sapa-AP