Factory collapse in Bangladesh l 402 dead and 149 missing

A week after the collapse of the building in Dhaka (Bangladesh) which housed several textile factories working for Western firms, the authorities of that country have submitted the official casualty figures: 402 dead and 149 are missing. So said General Chowdhury Hasan Suhrawardy, who has provided a list with the names of the 149 people still remain missing. Similarly, the high military has admitted that the number of dead to topple the eight-story building located in Rana Plaza, on the outskirts of the capital, amounts to 402. This is the worst industrial disaster happened in Bangladesh . In the collapsed building more than 2,000 people working. After what happened, thousands of people protested in the streets to demand the arrest of the owners of the property and the five workshops that were located inside. The disaster has again exposed the poor working conditions and safety of workers suffering textile workshops in China, catering to Western multinationals. Industrial Police accused the owners of factories ignore the cracks that appeared in the building on Tuesday, a day before the disaster. Bangladesh is the country with the lowest production costs in the apparel industry and why companies around the world are shifting some of their production to China, according to the Clean Clothes Campaign.

Protests on May 1

This May 1st, International Workers Day, tens of thousands of people have returned to marching in the streets to demand the arrest of the owners of the garment factories. Thousands of workers carrying red flags and banners bearing the letter'Hang the murderers, Hang owners of the workshops' have paraded through the streets of Dhaka. Similar demonstrations have taken place in other parts of the country on this holiday. Despite the appeal of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, to maintain the "cool head", anger is inflaming the streets and authorities fear arising from acts of violence and vandalism in the textile workshops .

Arrests

Social unrest, the Government of Bangladesh is facing criticism from Western companies that make clothes in the Asian country and had claimed security improvements of local employees. Similarly, the authorities have been heavily criticized for not allowing foreign aid in the work of clearing. For now, have been arrested two businessmen and two city officials. Among the companies themselves have confirmed that produced in any of the local companies involved in the case include Primark, El Corte Ingles, Bon Marche and Joe Fresh . It also points to a Spanish businessman, David Major , co-owner of one of the affected clothing shops as one of the main suspects in the investigation of the disaster.