By afternoon, only 600 people had been rescued from the building with thousands of residents and factory workers said to have been within the building when it collapsed. Women are said to have been half of the victims, most working for the 4 garment factories housed within the building including the New Wave Style which takes up three levels of the building. Several children of the female workers are also said to have fallen casualties of the collapse.
Tuesday, cracks were noticed on the building and the Bangladesh Industrial Police are said to have ordered an evacuation of the building. However, thousands reported to work on Wednesday as usual with most fearing dismissal as the main reason why they disregarded the evacuation notice. Engineers are said to have inspected the building on the owner’s instructions and said it was safe.
The ground floor of the building is the only level which was left intact after the building collapsed. Primax confirmed they had a supplier occupying the building’s second floor.
