Dhaka: Bangladeshi rescue teams called off
their operations as the toll in Tuesday`s building collapse in
the capital touched 25, with two more bodies being recovered
on Thursday.
"We have abandoned rescue operations as no one is
likely to be trapped under the debris," Shahjadi Sultana, the
fire brigade spokeswomen told agency.
The five-storey building, which was built on the edge
of a canal in the capital?s Tejgaon industrial district,
collapsed on Tuesday, flattening three flimsy homes where
scores of labourers lived.
Rescuers called off salvage operations as two more
bodies were retrieved today from the tonnes of rubbles,
taking the toll to 25 after the building collapsed, officials
said.
Sultana said military troops helping in the rescue
operation were also withdrawn from the spot.
She said six children and nine women were among the 25
killed, while some 25 others were treated for injuries after
the column-based building collapsed flattening three
tin-roofed structures housing low-income people.
Fire officials said rescue work was hampered by live
electricity wires and leaking gas pipes. Moreover, the narrow
lanes delayed the operation as it was difficult for equipment
carrying vehicles to move into the area.
Officials blamed shoddy construction for the collapse
of the building. The structure, which was owned by a former
government official, had added additional floors in defiance
of construction regulations by the local authorities.
Some 70 people were killed in 2005 when a garment
factory on the outskirts of the capital caved in.
Experts fear that more than half of the capital`s
buildings and high-rises would collapse if the country is hit
by a powerful earthquake.
PTI
