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Dhaka building collapse: Owner Mohammed Sohel Rana arrested | |
(35 minutes later) | |
The owner of a building that collapsed in the Bangladeshi capital Dhaka, killing hundreds of people, has been arrested, a government minister says. | The owner of a building that collapsed in the Bangladeshi capital Dhaka, killing hundreds of people, has been arrested, a government minister says. |
Local government minister Jahangir Kabir Nanak said Mohammed Sohel Rana was arrested at the Indian border. | Local government minister Jahangir Kabir Nanak said Mohammed Sohel Rana was arrested at the Indian border. |
He has been in hiding since the Rana Plaza collapsed on Wednesday. | He has been in hiding since the Rana Plaza collapsed on Wednesday. |
Rescuers are in a race against time to reach nine survivors as officials prepare to bring in heavy machinery to move the wreckage. | |
Mr Nanak said that Mohammed Sohel Rana was arrested near the land-crossing in Benapole along the border with India's West Bengal state and was being brought back to Dhaka by helicopter. | Mr Nanak said that Mohammed Sohel Rana was arrested near the land-crossing in Benapole along the border with India's West Bengal state and was being brought back to Dhaka by helicopter. |
He made the announcement by loudspeaker at the site of the collapsed eight-storey building in the Dhaka suburb of Savar. | |
He said the arrest had been made by soldiers from the Rapid Action Battalion. | He said the arrest had been made by soldiers from the Rapid Action Battalion. |
The BBC's Anbarasan Ethirajan in Dhaka said rescue workers cheered and clapped at the news. | The BBC's Anbarasan Ethirajan in Dhaka said rescue workers cheered and clapped at the news. |
There has been widespread anger at the disaster and six people, including three factory owners, have now been arrested. The building housed several garment factories. | |
More than 360 people are now known to have died in the disaster and hundreds more are missing. | |
On Sunday, two more people were pulled alive from the rubble and a group of about nine survivors was also located. | On Sunday, two more people were pulled alive from the rubble and a group of about nine survivors was also located. |
Teams were using light cutting equipment to try to reach them, our correspondent says, and water and food were being dropped to them through gaps in the rubble. | Teams were using light cutting equipment to try to reach them, our correspondent says, and water and food were being dropped to them through gaps in the rubble. |
But with hopes fading for those still trapped, officials plan to bring in cranes within the next few hours. | But with hopes fading for those still trapped, officials plan to bring in cranes within the next few hours. |
The army officer co-ordinating the rescue, Maj Gen Chowdhury Hasan Suhrawardy, said they would try to save the nine people first by using light equipment. | |
"But if we fail we will start our next phase within hours," he said. | |
This would involve heavy equipment including hydraulic cranes and cutters to bore a hole from the top of the collapsed building, he told reporters. | |
He said they still aimed to recover survivors as well as bodies. | |
"In this stage, we have no other choice but to use some heavy equipment," he said. | |
"We will start it within a few hours. Manual operation and use of small equipment is not enough." | |
As well as the arrest of Mohammed Sohel Rana, police have also detained three garment factory owners and two engineers in connection with the disaster. | |
Factory bosses Mahbubur Rahman Tapas and Balzul Samad Adnan surrendered to police early on Saturday while Aminul Islam was arrested later the same day. | |
Police said officials had ordered an evacuation of the building on Tuesday after cracks appeared, but that the factories ignored them and were operating the next day. | |
The municipal engineers are reported to have approved the safety of the building a day before it collapsed. | |
Thousands of relatives of missing workers are waiting at the site as survivors and the dead are pulled from the rubble. | |
At least 3,000 are estimated to have been in the building when it collapsed. About 2,430 are now known to have survived. | |
There is no official figure on the number of people still missing, but Akram Hossain, a deputy director of the fire service, said their chances of survival were "diminishing by the minute". | |
Anger at the building collapse has triggered days of violent protests in Dhaka, although streets were said to be quiet on Sunday. | |
Bangladesh has one of the largest garment industries in the world, providing cheap clothing for major Western retailers that benefit from its widespread low-cost labour. | |
But the industry has been widely criticised for its low pay and limited rights given to workers and for the often dangerous working conditions in garment factories. |