This Monday photo shows rescuers using a crane to remove heavy concrete slabs of the collapsed building at Savar.
Rescuers pulled out four more bodies from beneath the debris of the collapsed building in Savar on Tuesday, seven days into the building collapse.
With this, the death toll now stands at 388.
The army has been using dog squad to find any survivors or bodies trapped under the runs.
Meanwhile, the Dhaka-Aricha highway, which remained closed for smooth rescue operation since the building collapsed on April 24, opened to traffic, Habibur Rahman, superintendent of police in Dhaka district.
One out of the two lanes, which is opposite to the building collapse site, reopened for vehicular movement in the morning considering public sufferings, he said.
But traffic movement on the highway is being hampered due to sporadic clashes between police and workers demanding capital punishment of Sohel Rana, the owner of the collapsed building.
The rescuers recovered the body of a woman from under the rubbles around 8:30am while a man around 11:30am, said Mohammed Hares Shikder, a sub-inspector of Savar Police Station.
The second phase of the rescue operation using heavy lifting gears is going on full swing since Sunday night.
Hydraulic cranes have been removing debris from the back, front and side portions of the building as the rescuers are expecting to have more bodies inside the rubble of the main structure.
State Minister for LGRD and Cooperatives Jahangir Kabir Nanak, who is visiting the site, told reporters that the rescue operation will be completed as soon as possible.
“We are continuing the rescue operation in such a way that the bodies, if any, can be pulled out without any damage,” he said.
Echoing the same words, Major General Chowdhury Hasan Suhrawardy of the 9th Infantry Division, said the rescuers are giving highest priority to rescue survivors, if there is any, and to pull out the bodies unhurt.
They are also searching for computer hard disks under the debris to know the exact figure of workers, who were inside the building during the collapse on April 24, he said while addressing a press briefing at the site.
“We went to the BGMEA for a list of workers, who were working at Rana Plaza, to ascertain the number of missing workers,” Suhrawardy said.
BGMEA President Atiqul Islam said he will try to collect the list, he added.
Rana Plaza, the nine-storey building housing half a dozen readymade garment factories, caved in on April 24 after owners forced several thousand workers to come to work despite cracks had developed on some pillars.
The rescuers rescued at least 2,437 survivors in the debris till this morning.
Source: The Daily Star
