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On this day, April 24, 2013, 1,134 people were killed when the Rana Plaza in Dhaka collapsed.
Rana Plaza collapse
Side view of the collapsed building
Date: 24 April 2013 (11 years ago)
Time: 08:45 am BST (UTC+06:00)
Location: Savar Upazila, Dhaka District, Bangladesh
Coordinates: 23°50'46"N 90°15'27"E
The Rana Plaza collapse (also referred to as the Savar building collapse or the collapse of Rana Plaza) was a structural failure that occurred on 24 April 2013 in the Savar Upazila of Dhaka District, Bangladesh, where an eight-storey commercial building called Rana Plaza collapsed. The search for the dead ended on 13 May 2013 with a death toll of 1,134. Approximately 2,500 injured people were rescued from the building. It is considered the deadliest accidental structural failure in modern human history, as well as the deadliest garment-factory disaster in history and the deadliest industrial accident in the history of Bangladesh.
The building housed five garment factories, a bank, and apartments. It was constructed in 2006 on the site of a former pond, and was built without proper permits. The fifth through eighth floors were added onto the building without supporting walls. The heavy equipment from the garment factories was more than the structure could support. On 23 April 2013, large cracks were discovered in the building. The shops and the bank on the lower floors immediately closed, but the garment factory owners on the upper floors ignored the warnings and forced the workers to return to work the following day. On 24 April, the building collapsed at 9:00 am local time, trapping thousands of people inside.
The court in Bangladesh formally charged 38 people with murder, along with the building owner Sohel Rana. Rana was arrested after a four-day manhunt, apparently trying to flee across the border to India. A total of 41 defendants face charges over the collapse of the complex, which housed five garment factories supplying global brands. Of the 41 people charged, 35 (including Rana) appeared before the court and pleaded not guilty. Rana was not granted bail. He was charged with corruption again in 2017; the trials continue to this day.
The collapse of Rana Plaza was a major turning point in the Bangladesh garment industry. It led to widespread protests and calls for better safety standards. In the aftermath of the disaster, the Bangladesh government passed a new law that requires all garment factories to be inspected by a government-approved agency. The International Labour Organization (ILO) also established the Bangladesh Accord on Fire and Building Safety, which is a legally binding agreement between brands, retailers, and unions to improve safety standards in the Bangladesh garment industry.
Background
The location of Savar (red marker), the site of the building collapse, in relation to Dhaka.
Photo of Rana Plaza taken one year before the collapse.
Rana Plaza was built in 2006 and owned by Sohel Rana—allegedly a member of the local unit of Jubo League (the youth wing of Bangladesh Awami League, the political party in power). It housed a number of separate garment factories, employing around 5,000 people, plus ground-level shops and a bank. The factories manufactured apparel for international brands including Benetton, Zara, The Children's Place, El Corte Inglés, Joe Fresh, Mango, Matalan, Primark, and Walmart.
The head of the Bangladesh Fire Service & Civil Defence, Ali Ahmed Khan, said that the upper four floors had been built without a permit. Rana Plaza's architect, Massood Reza, said the building was "planned for shops and offices, but not factories". Other architects stressed the risks involved in placing factories inside a building designed only for shops and offices, noting the structure was potentially not strong enough to bear the weight and vibration of heavy machinery.
On 23 April 2013 (one day before the collapse), a TV channel reported on and showed footage of cracks in the Rana Plaza building. Upon this broadcast, the building was evacuated, and the shops and the bank on the lower floors were closed. Later in the day, Sohel Rana told the media that the building was "safe", and that workers "should return" the following day. Reportedly, management at Ether Tex threatened to withhold a month's pay from workers who refused to come back to work.
Collapse and rescue
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Bangladesh_building_collapse_-_WN.ogv
Video clip of rescue work at the collapsed building.
On the morning of 24 April, there was a power outage and diesel generators on the top floor were started. At 08:54 am BST, loud vibrations and rumbling noises erupted on the top floors and spread throughout Rana Plaza, causing many workers to jump from their positions and rush towards the exits, but the structural failure started less than a minute later. The building collapsed completely at about 08:57 am BST, leaving only the ground floor intact. The Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association president confirmed that 3,122 workers were in the building at the time of the collapse. One local resident described the scene as if "an earthquake had struck."
{snip}
Side view of the collapsed building
Date: 24 April 2013 (11 years ago)
Time: 08:45 am BST (UTC+06:00)
Location: Savar Upazila, Dhaka District, Bangladesh
Coordinates: 23°50'46"N 90°15'27"E
The Rana Plaza collapse (also referred to as the Savar building collapse or the collapse of Rana Plaza) was a structural failure that occurred on 24 April 2013 in the Savar Upazila of Dhaka District, Bangladesh, where an eight-storey commercial building called Rana Plaza collapsed. The search for the dead ended on 13 May 2013 with a death toll of 1,134. Approximately 2,500 injured people were rescued from the building. It is considered the deadliest accidental structural failure in modern human history, as well as the deadliest garment-factory disaster in history and the deadliest industrial accident in the history of Bangladesh.
The building housed five garment factories, a bank, and apartments. It was constructed in 2006 on the site of a former pond, and was built without proper permits. The fifth through eighth floors were added onto the building without supporting walls. The heavy equipment from the garment factories was more than the structure could support. On 23 April 2013, large cracks were discovered in the building. The shops and the bank on the lower floors immediately closed, but the garment factory owners on the upper floors ignored the warnings and forced the workers to return to work the following day. On 24 April, the building collapsed at 9:00 am local time, trapping thousands of people inside.
The court in Bangladesh formally charged 38 people with murder, along with the building owner Sohel Rana. Rana was arrested after a four-day manhunt, apparently trying to flee across the border to India. A total of 41 defendants face charges over the collapse of the complex, which housed five garment factories supplying global brands. Of the 41 people charged, 35 (including Rana) appeared before the court and pleaded not guilty. Rana was not granted bail. He was charged with corruption again in 2017; the trials continue to this day.
The collapse of Rana Plaza was a major turning point in the Bangladesh garment industry. It led to widespread protests and calls for better safety standards. In the aftermath of the disaster, the Bangladesh government passed a new law that requires all garment factories to be inspected by a government-approved agency. The International Labour Organization (ILO) also established the Bangladesh Accord on Fire and Building Safety, which is a legally binding agreement between brands, retailers, and unions to improve safety standards in the Bangladesh garment industry.
Background
The location of Savar (red marker), the site of the building collapse, in relation to Dhaka.
Photo of Rana Plaza taken one year before the collapse.
Rana Plaza was built in 2006 and owned by Sohel Rana—allegedly a member of the local unit of Jubo League (the youth wing of Bangladesh Awami League, the political party in power). It housed a number of separate garment factories, employing around 5,000 people, plus ground-level shops and a bank. The factories manufactured apparel for international brands including Benetton, Zara, The Children's Place, El Corte Inglés, Joe Fresh, Mango, Matalan, Primark, and Walmart.
The head of the Bangladesh Fire Service & Civil Defence, Ali Ahmed Khan, said that the upper four floors had been built without a permit. Rana Plaza's architect, Massood Reza, said the building was "planned for shops and offices, but not factories". Other architects stressed the risks involved in placing factories inside a building designed only for shops and offices, noting the structure was potentially not strong enough to bear the weight and vibration of heavy machinery.
On 23 April 2013 (one day before the collapse), a TV channel reported on and showed footage of cracks in the Rana Plaza building. Upon this broadcast, the building was evacuated, and the shops and the bank on the lower floors were closed. Later in the day, Sohel Rana told the media that the building was "safe", and that workers "should return" the following day. Reportedly, management at Ether Tex threatened to withhold a month's pay from workers who refused to come back to work.
Collapse and rescue
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Bangladesh_building_collapse_-_WN.ogv
Video clip of rescue work at the collapsed building.
On the morning of 24 April, there was a power outage and diesel generators on the top floor were started. At 08:54 am BST, loud vibrations and rumbling noises erupted on the top floors and spread throughout Rana Plaza, causing many workers to jump from their positions and rush towards the exits, but the structural failure started less than a minute later. The building collapsed completely at about 08:57 am BST, leaving only the ground floor intact. The Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association president confirmed that 3,122 workers were in the building at the time of the collapse. One local resident described the scene as if "an earthquake had struck."
{snip}
Mon Apr 24, 2023: On this day, April 24, 2013, 1,134 people were killed in the 2013 Dhaka garment factory collapse.
Sat Apr 24, 2021: On this day, April 24, 2013, 1,134 people were killed in the 2013 Dhaka garment factory collapse.