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| Bangladesh building collapse: voices in the rubble cry for help as rescuers toil | Bangladesh building collapse: voices in the rubble cry for help as rescuers toil |
| (14 days later) | |
| The phone call came just after 10am on Thursday. It was hardly more than a whisper, but Sharmeen Begum recognised the voice as that of her daughter Sumi, who worked at a garment factory in the ill-fated Rana Plaza building outside Dhaka. | The phone call came just after 10am on Thursday. It was hardly more than a whisper, but Sharmeen Begum recognised the voice as that of her daughter Sumi, who worked at a garment factory in the ill-fated Rana Plaza building outside Dhaka. |
| "Ma, I'm on the third floor. Help me!" Sumi croaked, and then the line went dead. | "Ma, I'm on the third floor. Help me!" Sumi croaked, and then the line went dead. |
| Sumi had been missing since Rana Plaza collapsed into a heap of rubble on Wednesday, killing at least 213 people and trapping hundreds of others. On Thursday Begum joined an anxious crowd outside the wreckage, clutching a photograph of her daughter. "My daughter is alive inside," she said. "She must have gained consciousness somehow and called me. Please save her!" | Sumi had been missing since Rana Plaza collapsed into a heap of rubble on Wednesday, killing at least 213 people and trapping hundreds of others. On Thursday Begum joined an anxious crowd outside the wreckage, clutching a photograph of her daughter. "My daughter is alive inside," she said. "She must have gained consciousness somehow and called me. Please save her!" |
| Survivors pulled from the masonry described how the eight-storey building collapsed with a deafening bang. One worker said he was pitched downwards as if on a falling lift. Another thought it was an earthquake. | Survivors pulled from the masonry described how the eight-storey building collapsed with a deafening bang. One worker said he was pitched downwards as if on a falling lift. Another thought it was an earthquake. |
| Most of those who emerged alive from the debris had been on the upper floors. Those on the lower levels stood little chance of escape, though miraculously a few got out. Khadija, 20, who worked at New Wave Bottoms, was on the second floor of Rana Plaza. Her hands were still swollen and her right leg was bandaged as she recovered at home. | Most of those who emerged alive from the debris had been on the upper floors. Those on the lower levels stood little chance of escape, though miraculously a few got out. Khadija, 20, who worked at New Wave Bottoms, was on the second floor of Rana Plaza. Her hands were still swollen and her right leg was bandaged as she recovered at home. |
| "We did not want to go to work on Wednesday. We went only to find out what the factory owners decided," she said. "They told us there was no trouble in the building, that only the plaster had worn off. The production manager threatened us saying: 'We will stop all your pay if you do not get to your work!'" | "We did not want to go to work on Wednesday. We went only to find out what the factory owners decided," she said. "They told us there was no trouble in the building, that only the plaster had worn off. The production manager threatened us saying: 'We will stop all your pay if you do not get to your work!'" |
| As she went to work at 8.45am, the floor vanished beneath her. "I was caught up under the rubble. It was all dark inside. I had only one hand free. With that I made space to sit and kept praying. Everywhere I searched, I only found dead bodies barring one or two alive. At around 2pm I could finally see some light from outside and firefighters in uniform. I screamed out to them and began giving them directions to break in and save me." | As she went to work at 8.45am, the floor vanished beneath her. "I was caught up under the rubble. It was all dark inside. I had only one hand free. With that I made space to sit and kept praying. Everywhere I searched, I only found dead bodies barring one or two alive. At around 2pm I could finally see some light from outside and firefighters in uniform. I screamed out to them and began giving them directions to break in and save me." |
| "Come this way, keep breaking in," she told the rescuers. "They finally rescued me." | "Come this way, keep breaking in," she told the rescuers. "They finally rescued me." |
| Some survivors managed to crawl out between gaps in stone slabs. Others were stuck. Pancham Basu, 22, was trapped in the rubble for 12 hours. "I worked at the seventh floor of the building. The building collapsed so fast we could not even move. Everyone around me was dead," he said. | Some survivors managed to crawl out between gaps in stone slabs. Others were stuck. Pancham Basu, 22, was trapped in the rubble for 12 hours. "I worked at the seventh floor of the building. The building collapsed so fast we could not even move. Everyone around me was dead," he said. |
| Basu was crying for his father, Probhat, who worked for Phantom Apparels on the third floor. He has not been found. Nor have there been any survivors from the ground floor. The bank there was evacuated; several shops were not. | Basu was crying for his father, Probhat, who worked for Phantom Apparels on the third floor. He has not been found. Nor have there been any survivors from the ground floor. The bank there was evacuated; several shops were not. |
| As the rescue operation continued, cries for help could be heard from deep inside. Zakir Hossain was freed at 8.30pm on Wednesday, the same time as Basu. Hossain said his sister-in-law was trapped still inside. "I can hear her voice. But she has still not been rescued," he said. | As the rescue operation continued, cries for help could be heard from deep inside. Zakir Hossain was freed at 8.30pm on Wednesday, the same time as Basu. Hossain said his sister-in-law was trapped still inside. "I can hear her voice. But she has still not been rescued," he said. |
| Others said factory bosses were among the victims. "Both our production manager and supervisor died. They were following orders of their superiors. They did not have a choice," said one worker, Siddiq. The collapse sounded like the "cracking of toast biscuits", he added. | Others said factory bosses were among the victims. "Both our production manager and supervisor died. They were following orders of their superiors. They did not have a choice," said one worker, Siddiq. The collapse sounded like the "cracking of toast biscuits", he added. |
| The tragedy has focused attention on the low wages paid to Bangladeshi staff, whose cut-price labour allows high-street shops in the west to clock up large profits. Fatema Khatun Moni, 21, said she had come to Dhaka to ensure a better living for her family back home in Naogaon. Fatema's basic monthly wage was £38, and with overtime she made £79. With that amount she financed her younger sister's education in her home village and supported her parents. | The tragedy has focused attention on the low wages paid to Bangladeshi staff, whose cut-price labour allows high-street shops in the west to clock up large profits. Fatema Khatun Moni, 21, said she had come to Dhaka to ensure a better living for her family back home in Naogaon. Fatema's basic monthly wage was £38, and with overtime she made £79. With that amount she financed her younger sister's education in her home village and supported her parents. |
| Fatema worked on the second floor of the building, at New Wave Bottoms. She went to work on Wednesday as normal despite the ominous cracks spotted in the building's fabric. "Everyone was asked to come in. But when we saw that the building wasn't safe, we opted to leave the place. Our bosses rebuked us and forced us to go back to work." | Fatema worked on the second floor of the building, at New Wave Bottoms. She went to work on Wednesday as normal despite the ominous cracks spotted in the building's fabric. "Everyone was asked to come in. But when we saw that the building wasn't safe, we opted to leave the place. Our bosses rebuked us and forced us to go back to work." |
| Fatema, her family's sole breadwinner, added: "When the building collapsed we were trapped inside. Fortunately we found an open space in the rubble. I jumped out of with another co-worker from the second floor. That's all I can remember." | Fatema, her family's sole breadwinner, added: "When the building collapsed we were trapped inside. Fortunately we found an open space in the rubble. I jumped out of with another co-worker from the second floor. That's all I can remember." |
| The rescue operation continued, but fewer survivors were discovered. Instead, rescuers pulled out more and more corpses – three in an hour. They found some survivors but were unable to extricate them. | The rescue operation continued, but fewer survivors were discovered. Instead, rescuers pulled out more and more corpses – three in an hour. They found some survivors but were unable to extricate them. |
| An Associated Press cameraman descended into the building with rescuers and found one man, Mohammad Altab, pinned face down in the darkness between concrete slabs. Next to him were two bodies. "Save us, brother. I beg you, brother. I want to live," Altab moaned. "It's so painful here … I have two little children." | An Associated Press cameraman descended into the building with rescuers and found one man, Mohammad Altab, pinned face down in the darkness between concrete slabs. Next to him were two bodies. "Save us, brother. I beg you, brother. I want to live," Altab moaned. "It's so painful here … I have two little children." |
| Another survivor wept as he called for help. "We want to live, brother. It's hard to remain alive here. It's better to die than endure such pain. Please save us." | Another survivor wept as he called for help. "We want to live, brother. It's hard to remain alive here. It's better to die than endure such pain. Please save us." |
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