Miscellaneous

Citation

(2006), "Miscellaneous", Disaster Prevention and Management, Vol. 15 No. 3. https://doi.org/10.1108/dpm.2006.07315cac.006

Miscellaneous

15 April 2005Collapse of Gangway, Shipyard, St Nazaire, France

The shipbuilder Chantiers de l’Atlantique and supplier Endel have been charged with homicide in relation to the collapse of a gangway at St Nazaire Shipyard 15 November 2003, in which 15 people were killed.

11 April 2005Palashbari, Bangladesh

Hundreds of factory workers are feared trapped under the rubble of a nine-storey building that collapsed like a house of cards near Bangladesh’s capital, survivors and witnesses said today. Rescuers dug out 11 bodies and pulled 55 people alive from the debris but narrow roads leading to the site delayed efforts to bring in cranes to help remove concrete slabs. Anxious relatives joined rescuers searching for survivors in the twisted remains of the building at Palashbari, 30 km from Dhaka, which housed a garment factory. The victims were employees working a late shift. Police said the collapse was probably triggered by a boiler explosion at the factory. Fire brigade officials said they would investigate further to determine the exact cause. Shahid Alam, a senior official of the Dhaka Development Authority, said the factory had been built on marshland despite a lack of planning permission. Authorities called in extra police, army and paramilitary troops to bolster the rescue effort. One small crane entered the site at noon and more were on their way, rescuers said. Police and fire-fighters said the building collapsed about an hour after midnight. Security officer Abdul Hye said at least 250 people had been working the night shift at Shahriar Fabrics.

21 April 2005. Rescuers in Bangladesh were today trying to reach up to 150 people trapped in rubble after a nine-storey garment factory collapsed near the capital, killing at least 26, officials said. “The confirmed death toll from the collapse has risen to 26 with four bodies pulled out after midnight,” one rescue official said today. Nearly 100 people had been rescued alive, officials and witnesses said. Army and fire brigade officials said they believed around 100-150 people were still trapped. “But it is really impossible to give an exact number,” said fire brigade official Fariduddin Ahmed. “Bringing out the victims dead or alive is proving a difficult task. They are stuck deep under the debris or in the tangle of crumpled iron rods and bricks,” Ahmed said. “We cannot use hammers, shovels or other equipment just recklessly to dig down, because this may jeopardise the lives of the trapped survivors. We need to be careful.” Another official said some 1,000 troops, fire brigade personnel and volunteers joined the rescue efforts but they lacked appropriate tools. “If the trapped people can’t be rescued before nightfall tonight, chances of finding them alive would really fade,” said Talim Mollah, a civil defence volunteer. Fire-fighters said the building collapsed at about 01:00 yesterday at Shahriar Fabrics in Palashbari, 18 miles from Dhaka. Security officer Abdul Hye said at least 250 people had been working the night shift at the factory. The army brought in sniffer dogs and heavy equipment, including excavators and cranes, to speed up an effort that went on through the night to reach those trapped under debris, rescue officials said. A massive pile of bricks and concrete slabs was all that remained of the building. Army medical units supplied bottled water and medicine to trapped survivors after cutting holes in the building’s roof. Police said the collapse was probably triggered by a boiler explosion. Fire brigade officials said they would investigate. Shahid Alam, a senior official of the Dhaka Development Authority, said the factory had been built on a swamp without permission. The authority has formed an inquiry committee to ascertain the cause of the collapse and determine who was to blame. The factory produces clothes for export, including to the United States.

14 April 2005. More than 100 people remained trapped today under the rubble of a collapsed nine-storey factory in Bangladesh but the slow pace of rescue efforts suggested that few survivors would be found. The Shahriar Fabrics plant at Palashbari, 18 miles from the capital, Dhaka, collapsed early on Monday (April 11) as hundreds of workers packed it for a busy night shift. At least 34 people died and more than 100 have been rescued from the mountain of bricks, concrete slabs and twisted iron rods. “We are trying to find more people but hopes of finding them alive are evaporating. Only a miracle would keep them alive now,” rescue operator Mohammad Selim said today. Large numbers of fire-fighters, police and troops have worked day and night using heavy equipment to try to clear the rubble, a task they said was difficult to complete quickly. “The rescue operation is progressing but digging through the piles of concrete slabs, bricks and mangled iron is a gigantic task,” army Brigadier-General Nizam Ahmed said. “It will take a few more days to finish the job but it may be too late for any survivors who may still be holding on,” one police officer said.

18 April 2005. The number of people killed in the collapse of a Bangladeshi garment factory climbed to 69 yesterday as rescuers recovered nine more bodies, a rescue official said, adding there is scant hope of finding anyone else alive. A boiler explosion on Monday (April 11) brought the nine-storey building down on nearly 300 workers at the factory near Savar, an industrial town 20 miles north-west of the capital, Dhaka. About 96 more workers were still missing and feared dead. “There is little scope of finding anyone alive now, but we never give up hope,” said Brig. Gen. Nizam Ahmed, an army officer who was supervising the rescue work. Most of the corpses were badly mangled and decomposing, and relatives struggled to identify them by clothing or other personal effects. The factory was built on a swamp three years ago, and building investigators suspect poor construction may have led to the collapse.

19 April 2005. Rescuers have called off their search of a collapsed Bangladeshi factory and say the number of people confirmed killed in the disaster is 73. “This morning we’ve called off the rescue operation as we have already cleared the rubble of all nine floors,” Brigadier General Nizam Ahmed, head of the army rescue operation, said. Since, the building collapsed on Monday last week (April 11), rescuers have found 73 bodies in the ruins of the nine-storey building. Around 100 people have been rescued alive. “There is no chance of finding any other dead bodies as the debris is cleared down to the ground floor,” Brigadier General Ahmed said. He says of the bodies, five still remained unidentified. The illegally-constructed nine-storey building housing Spectrum Sweater and Knitting Industries at Palash Bari, 30 km north-west of the capital, was packed with nightshift workers when it collapsed in the early hours of April 11. Officials say some families have reported that their relatives are still missing. “But we told them that there was no way anyone could be in the rubble as we’ve cleared it in the most meticulous manner,” Salim Newaz, the head of Dhaka fire department, said. He says some missing workers have been reported twice. Survivors say the building collapsed after a boiler exploded, but officials say the boiler has been discovered “intact”. Engineers who inspected the collapsed building say poor-quality building materials and faulty construction of the building on low-lying marsh land without proper foundations had led to its collapse. Two government bodies have launched investigation into the accident.