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Rana Plaza collapse

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.[2] Approximately 2,500 injured people were rescued from the building.[4] 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.[5][6][7]

For the 2005 collapse of a garment factory in Dhaka, see 2005 Dhaka garment factory collapse.

Date

24 April 2013 (11 years ago)

08:45 am BST (UTC+06:00)[1]

Savar building collapse

1,134[2]

~2,500[3]

Murder

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.[8] 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.[9][10][11][12] 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.[13]


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.[14][15]


On August 29, 2017, Sohel Rana was sentenced to three years' simple imprisonment in a graft case. At this time (April 2024), the trial proceedings in another case filed over violation of building codes are now stalled due to High Court stay orders.


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.[16] 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.[17] 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.[18]

Charges[edit]

On 15 June 2014, the Bangladesh Anti Corruption Commission filed a case against 14 people for building Rana Plaza with faulty design.[45] On 1 June 2015, murder charges were filed by the Bangladesh Police against 42 people, including the owners of the building, over the collapse.[121][122] The accused were indicted on 28 July 2<016. The case was delayed after the Bangladesh High Court stopped trial proceedings against 5 accused including Savar Mayor Refayat Ullah.[123]


On 29 August 2017, the factory owner, Sohel Rana, was sentenced to a maximum three year imprisonment by a court for failing to declare his personal wealth to the country's anti-graft commission. Rana and 37 others, including government officials, have also been charged with murder and could receive the death penalty if they are found responsible for the complex's collapse.[124]


As of 2021, both the murder trial and the violation of the building code trial are still pending. Only Sohel Rana is in custody, the others accused were on bail, on the run or already dead.[125][126] Rajuk lodged the case on the day of the collapse.


As of April, 2024, the case had been transferred to the Dhaka District and Sessions Judge's Court from the Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate's Court for quick disposal.


The court was unable to begin recording statements of the prosecution witnesses because of High Court stay orders on the trial proceedings, said Additional Public Prosecutor Anwarul Kabir Babul. [127]

Documentary[edit]

Shelagh Carter produced a short documentary, Rana Plaza: Let Not the Hope Die (2014), commemorating the one-year anniversary of the tragedy, while living in Dhaka[131] in support of her husband Brad Loewen's work in implementing the Accord.[132]

Exploitation of labour

Final Embrace

Sweatshop

The True Cost

List of disasters in Bangladesh by death toll

Other garment factory disasters:

Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire

Other building collapses:

Pemberton Mill

Organizations

Alliance for Bangladesh Worker Safety

. The Huffington Post. 8 May 2013.

Heartbreaking Bangladesh Factory Photo Shows Couple In Final Embrace (PHOTO)

. Vijay Prashad. Truthdig. 26 April 2013.

Smile, Work and Die

Toronto Star, 14 May 2013

Bangladesh factory collapse: Clothes made for a tenth of retail price, documents show | Toronto Star

(7:43)—PBS NewsHour interview

Will Retailers Invest in Safer Conditions in Bangladesh? – YouTube

Miller, Doug (February 2013). (PDF). Capturing the Gains. ISBN 978-1-907247-86-6. SSRN 2212100.

"Towards Sustainable Labour Costing in UK Fashion Retail"

The Washington Post, 18 April 2014

A year after Rana Plaza: What hasn't changed since the Bangladesh factory collapse

. The Guardian. 24 April 2014.

'Without stronger unions, Rana Plaza will happen time and time again'

. Democracy Now! 13 March 2015.

27 Arrested at The Children's Place HQ in Protest over Factory Collapse

Akhter, Shamima (March 2014). (PDF). Asian Journal of Women's Studies. 20 (1): 137–147. doi:10.1080/12259276.2014.11666176. S2CID 149821857.

"Endless misery of nimble fingers: the Rana Plaza disaster"

IndustriALL Global Union

Help the humanitarian relief effort in Savar | Industriall

The Fifth Estate (TV series)YouTube (42:40)

Made in Bangladesh