The Rescue Operation Coordination Committee on Sunday decided to start operation using heavy equipment to rescue those still remained trapped inside the collapsed Rana Plaza at Savar.
‘”We’ve decided to use heavy equipment, including hydrolic cranes to rescue the trapped people,” Major General Hasan Chowdhury Suhrawardi, chairman of the Rescue Operation Coordination Committee and also the GOC of 9 Infantry Division, said while briefing the media in front of the collapsed building.
He said, “We’ve stopped the manual rescue operation and the rescuers have already been removed from inside the collapsed building. We’ll be able to rescue the people who are alive using hydrolic cranes, cutting equipment and different other tools.”
The rescue teams of Bangladesh Army, Fire Service and Red Crescent will conduct the new operation.
Hasan Chowdhury Suhrawardi also said with the latest ones, some 2433 people have been rescued alive in 96 hours of frantic efforts with the help of volunteers and local people since the complex collapsed on Wednesday.
The rescuers also recovered 30 people alive from the rubble of the building during the last 24 hours, he said.
Of the injured, some died at different hospitals and some were released after giving first aid, he said.
Bangladesh Air Force, Bangladesh Navy, Police, Rab, BGB and other organizations will also cooperate in the new operation, he said.
The death toll from the collapse of the complex that also housed five garment factories reached 361 on Sunday as the search for the survivors goes on.
Of the total bodies, 347 bodies were handed over to the victims’ families.
Source: UNBConnect
