Rana Plaza collapse 2013 Textile industry in Bangladesh

collapsed rana plaza building near dhaka, bangladesh, in 2013

on 24 april 2013 on 1045 textile workers factories making clothes western brands killed when garment factory collapsed. 2013 savar building collapse in rana plaza complex, in savar, industrial corner 20 miles northwest of dhaka, capital of bangladesh. world s deadliest industrial accident since bhopal disaster in india in 1984. while 2,500 rescued rubble including many injured, total number of missing remained unknown weeks later. building owner, sohel rana, built additional 2 floors beyond approved permit six-floor building. rana, associated ruling awami league, used shoddy building materials, including substandard rods, bricks , cement, , did not obtaining necessary clearances , constructed building on pond filled sand . engineer raised safety concerns after noticing cracks in rana plaza complex day before collapse. in spite of factories stayed open fill overdue orders. when generators restarted after power blackout building caved in. 6 garment factories in rana plaza cleared re-open on 9 may 2013 after inspectors allegedly issued safety certificates. 9 people arrested including 4 factory owners, owner of complex , engineer warned of crack in building. several prominent transnational companies had products linked factories within rana plaza building including retail giants wal-mart, mango, dutch retailer c & a, benetton fashions, cato fashions, , popular british chain primark. while incident raised international concern structural integrity , safety of many bangladeshi textile factors, industry saw significant rise. on time collapse march 2014, exports increased on 16% resulting in $23.9 billion dollars.

in june 2015 after two-year investigation homicide charges filed against 42 people in 2013 collapse of factory rana plaza killed more 1,136 people in april 2013. sohel rana, building owner, refat ullah, mayor @ time of incident along owners of 5 garment factories located in rana plaza, , dozens of local council officials , engineers charged culpable homicide, carries maximum sentence of life in prison under bangladeshi law.

bangladesh garment manufacturers , exporters association (bgmea) report

bangladesh garment manufacturers , exporters association (bgmea) recognised trade body represents export oriented garment manufacturers , garment exporters of country. fundamental objective of bgmea establish healthy business environment close , mutually beneficial relationship between manufacturers, exporters , importers, thereby ensuring steady growth in foreign exchange earnings of country. after savar collapse, bgmea assembled 11-member committee investigate causes of tragedy. in final report bgmea pinned blame on inspection officials granted permits factory owners install heavy machinery on 2 floors not authorized exist in first place , on local officials neglecting ensure proper oversight of building plans. report indicated building owner sohel rana may have been able corrupt municipal officials offering bribes.