Final_Garments factory Incidents In Bangladesh in the Last Two Decades.pdf

8/9/2019 Final_Garments factory Incidents In Bangladesh in the Last Two Decades.pdf

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Building collapse at Shakhari Bazar on June 09, 2004

Shankhari Bazaar residents in old part of Dhaka city are passing their days with constant worries

about building collapse. The old and derelict buildings they have been living in remain unrepaired for

long.

On June 9, 2004, the 81 No. building in the area collapsed which killed 19 people.

Reason of Collapse

The building was hundred years old. The dwellers alleged that they could not carry out repairs to the

buildings due to the government declaration of the Shankhari Bazaar area to be one of the country‟s

archaeological heritage sites. The residents said they could neither demolish nor repair the vulnerable buildings.

Link: http://www.dhakatribune.com/bangladesh/2013/jul/28/shankhari-bazaar-residents-risk-building-

collapse#sthash.zZE9P77j.dpuf

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Collapse of Spectrum Sweater Garments on April 11, 2005

Shortly before 1:00 a.m. on April 11, 2005 workers in the Spectrum-Sweater factory in Palashbari,

Savar, Bangladesh, 30 km northeast of Dhaka, found their workplace suddenly crashing down

upon them. Sixty-four people died, at least 74 were wounded, some were handicapped for life, and

hundreds were left jobless as a result of the collapse.

The Spectrum collapse and fire resulted in the deaths of 62 clothing workers and injury to a further 84 workers

Before the collapse workers on several occasions had tried to report concerns regarding the safety of

their building, including one worker who saw cracks in the factory wall five days prior to the collapse.

But he was told to keep his mouth shut and work.

Reason of Collapse

The factory had been built on top of a flood-prone former swamp. Despite the lack of an adequatefoundation, five additional stories had been added to the original four-story structure to accommodate

large clothing orders that the factory owners did not want to refuse. To make matter worse, heavy

machinery had been placed on the fourth and seventh floors.

Spectrum was in violation not only of its construction permit, but also of many labour laws and code

of conduct provisions prior to the collapse, such as violation of the minimum wage and of the legal

right to one day a week off.

The MFA Forum, a multi-stakeholder initiative involving brands, multi-lateral institutions, labour

organizations, and NGOs, including MSN, has also been engaging with the Government of

Bangladesh, the industry association and local unions and NGOs on the need for structural safety and

health and safety measures to ensure that the Spectrum tragedy is not repeated.

Unfortunately, the growing pressure on the Bangladeshi garment industry for significant

improvements in health and safety practices has not yet resulted in major improvements at the factory

level. Nor have the victims of the Spectrum tragedy received the full compensation to which they are

entitled.

Link: http://www.cleanclothes.org/news/2013/04/11/spectrum-collapse-eight-years-on-and-still-

little-action-on-safety

http://www.cleanclothes.org/news/2013/04/11/spectrum-collapse-eight-years-on-and-still-little-action-on-safetyhttp://www.cleanclothes.org/news/2013/04/11/spectrum-collapse-eight-years-on-and-still-little-action-on-safetyhttp://www.cleanclothes.org/news/2013/04/11/spectrum-collapse-eight-years-on-and-still-little-action-on-safetyhttp://www.cleanclothes.org/news/2013/04/11/spectrum-collapse-eight-years-on-and-still-little-action-on-safetyhttp://www.cleanclothes.org/news/2013/04/11/spectrum-collapse-eight-years-on-and-still-little-action-on-safety


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Fire at KTS Textile Industries Factory on February 23, 2006

A fire at the KTS Textile Industries factory kills 61

workers (including girls 12, 13, and 14 years old) and

injures approximately 100. Locked emergency exits

prevent workers from escaping. There was reportedlyno health and safety equipment or fire drills at the

factory.

Reason of Fire

The fire occurred by an electrical short circuit

Link: http://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2006/03/bang-m02.html

Phoenix Building Collapse on February 25, 2006

Tejgaon is an old Industrial area of Dhaka. A part from other heavy industries a good number

of garment complex have been established in Tejgaon, Phoenix Garments complex, was a 5

storied building , was one of such industries located at Tejgaon, Dhaka. On 25 February

2006, this 5 storied building complex collapsed leaving 21 dead and several injured.

Twenty-one workers are killed and 50 injured when the five-story Phoenix Building collapsesfollowing unauthorized renovations to convert the upper stories of the building into a private

hospital. The building had housed the Phoenix Garments factory, and one line of the factory

was reportedly still running at the time of the disaster.

Link: http://www.army.mil.bd/node/274

http://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2006/03/bang-m02.htmlhttp://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2006/03/bang-m02.htmlhttp://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2006/03/bang-m02.htmlhttp://www.army.mil.bd/node/274http://www.army.mil.bd/node/274http://www.army.mil.bd/node/274http://www.army.mil.bd/node/274http://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2006/03/bang-m02.html


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Transformer explodes at the Imam Group building on February 25, 2006

Fifty-seven workers are injured when a transformer explodes at the Imam Group building and

workers are unable to get out through the narrow exits. The building housed five garment

factories.

Fire at System Fashions on March 6, 2006

Three workers are killed and approximately 50 injured when a fire caused by an electrical

short circuit at a building housing Sayem Fashions and two other garment factories provokes

a stampede when the workers find their exit route is blocked by boxes.

Building Tilt at Nakhalpara in Dhaka on June 06, 2010

A four storey building situated at Nakhalpara

in Dhaka city tilt on one side on June 06,

2010. The Sudden leaning of the structurespread a panic through the area as the

memory of few days ago at Begunbari

Building collapse is still fresh among the city

dwellers.

Reason of Tilt

Breaks down of a gas transmission line is the

main cause of this incident said Mamunur

Rashid, senior officer of Tejgaon Fire

Station.

Link: http://bdnews24.com/bangladesh/2010/06/05/nakhalpara-building-tilts

Cracks in Concord Tower on June

06, 2010

A crack developed in the beam in third

and fourth floors of the 22-storey

Concord Grand building at Shantinagar in

the city on June 06, 2010, four days after

25 people were killed in a building

collapse at Begunbari.

Remedial measures: However, a

special team from the Bangladesh

University of Engineering and Technology

(BUET) after a thorough examination has

declared that the Concord Grand building at Shantinagar 'not risky'. The two member BUET

team, led by civil engineering department chairman Fakhrul Amin, told after the examination

that the cracks were not of the main structure. The cracks were in the plaster only.

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Link: http://business.highbeam.com/409102/article-1P3-2050380351/22storey-concord-

grand-city-shantinagar-apparently

Collapse of Rana Plaza on 24 April, 2013

24th April 2013, 9am. Becoming a brutal incident of history, a nine-story commercial

building Rana Plaza collapsed at Savar, Dhaka, Bangladesh and left more than 1134 workers

dead, more than hundred missing and many other wounded. Around a thousand families have

found dead bodies of their beloved family members. Many families moved from police

stations to morgues in search of theirs relatives. Many people are still missing.

Approximately 2,515 injured people were rescued from the building alive.

It is considered the deadliest garment-factory accident in history, as well as the deadliest

accidental structural failure in modern human history.

The building contained clothing factories, a bank, apartments, and several other shops. The

shops and the bank on the lower floors immediately closed after cracks were discovered in

the building. Warnings to avoid using the building after cracks appeared the day before had

been ignored. Garment workers were ordered to return the following day and the building

collapsed during the morning rush-hour.

The head of the Bangladesh Fire Service & Civil Defense, Ali Ahmed Khan, said that the

upper four floors had been built without a permit. Rana Plaza's architect, Massood Reza, said

the building was planned for shops and offices but not factories. Other architects stressed the

risks involved in placing factories inside a building designed only for shops and offices,

http://business.highbeam.com/409102/article-1P3-2050380351/22storey-concord-grand-city-shantinagar-apparentlyhttp://business.highbeam.com/409102/article-1P3-2050380351/22storey-concord-grand-city-shantinagar-apparentlyhttp://business.highbeam.com/409102/article-1P3-2050380351/22storey-concord-grand-city-shantinagar-apparentlyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bangladesh_Fire_Service_%26_Civil_Defensehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bangladesh_Fire_Service_%26_Civil_Defensehttp://business.highbeam.com/409102/article-1P3-2050380351/22storey-concord-grand-city-shantinagar-apparentlyhttp://business.highbeam.com/409102/article-1P3-2050380351/22storey-concord-grand-city-shantinagar-apparently


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noting the structure was potentially not strong enough to bear the weight and vibration of

heavy machinery.

On Tuesday 23 April 2013, a TV channel recorded footage showing cracks in the Rana Plaza

building and the building was evacuated. The shops and the bank on the lower floors

immediately closed. Later in the day, Sohel Rana said to the media that the building was safe

and workers should return tomorrow. Managers at Ether Tex threatened to withhold a

month's pay from workers who refused to come to work.

On the Wednesday morning, 24 April, there was a power cut, and diesel generators on the

top floor were started. The building collapsed at about 08:57am, leaving only the ground

floor intact. The Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association president

confirmed that 3,122 workers were in the building at the time of the collapse. One local

resident described the scene as if "an earthquake had struck."

Why collapse

According to media reports workers at Rana Plaza saw the cracks in the huge structure the

day before the collapse but the authorities did not take any precautionary steps. The building

owner Sohel Rana allegedly told media on the same day that the cracks were “nothing

serious” and on 24th April, the day of the deadly incident, workers were forced to work and

threatened with a month‟s salary cut if they did not comply.

The owner of the building had not received the proper building consent, obtaining a permit

for only a five-story building from the local municipality. The building was, however,

illegally extended by a further three stories to a total of eight. Multiple factors led to the

inadequacy of the design of the building's structure, including illegal construction, poor

regulation of codes and inspections, and dangerous ignorance by the managerial staff.

Industrial police had asked the garment factory owners at Rana Plaza to keep the factories

closed and only continue further operations after consulting with expert structural engineers.

The question that remains unaddressed is: why did the factory owners and Rana work from

the same playbook, and ignore this crucial advice?

Estimated impact of Savar Tragedy:

A recent report published in a Bangla Textile Magazine „Muslin‟ depicted the impact of

Savar Tragedy. Based on that report, below table is showing that an immediate loss of

around 3.5 billion USD has been caused by the accident along with other medium to long

term losses. Loss of lives can never be compensated with monetary value and so whatever

the monetary loss figure is life loss is the highest loss. But below figures are for industry

owners, government and all other concerned to think how such an accident can have its toll

from many aspect along with huge monetary impact.

http://bdnews24.com/bangladesh/2013/04/24/cracks-were-seen-in-rana-plaza-tuesdayhttp://bdnews24.com/bangladesh/2013/04/24/cracks-were-seen-in-rana-plaza-tuesdayhttp://world.time.com/2013/04/26/dying-for-some-new-clothes-the-tragedy-of-rana-plaza/http://world.time.com/2013/04/26/dying-for-some-new-clothes-the-tragedy-of-rana-plaza/http://world.time.com/2013/04/26/dying-for-some-new-clothes-the-tragedy-of-rana-plaza/http://www.thedailystar.net/beta2/news/workers-forced-to-join-work/http://www.thedailystar.net/beta2/news/workers-forced-to-join-work/http://www.thedailystar.net/beta2/news/workers-forced-to-join-work/http://www.thedailystar.net/beta2/news/workers-forced-to-join-work/http://world.time.com/2013/04/26/dying-for-some-new-clothes-the-tragedy-of-rana-plaza/http://world.time.com/2013/04/26/dying-for-some-new-clothes-the-tragedy-of-rana-plaza/http://bdnews24.com/bangladesh/2013/04/24/cracks-were-seen-in-rana-plaza-tuesdayhttp://bdnews24.com/bangladesh/2013/04/24/cracks-were-seen-in-rana-plaza-tuesday


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Short term estimated monetary loss due to Rana Plaza collapse.

Description

Estimated Monetary

Loss (in million BDT)

Five RMG factory, Bank, Shops collapsed & damaged 1000

Vehicle, Offices, Shops & Factories torched and vandalised in after

shock protests 4000

Foreign Currency lost due to factories closed for 5 days 25350

Foreign Currency lost due to orders cancelled and shifted to othercountry 240000

The dead and paralyzed Labor would have earned in whole life 4458

Cost of compensation to the dead & injured 1014

Total Short Term Loss 275822

The country is already facing short to medium run impact of the collapse and the long run

impact could be so devastating that the whole industry can be lost due to it if real pragmatic

effort is not taken in time. This issues „Cover Plus‟ articles and othe r Analysis would focus

on that.


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Building tilt at kalyanpur on May 29, 2014

An explosion, possibly due to leak in sewerage line, rocked the 12-storey Mizan Tower at

Kalyanpur bus stand on May 29, 2014 creating huge panic in the area.

The blast originated in the sewerage line beneath the building possibly because of gas

accumulation,

The building houses shops, offices and a mosque on the first three floors while the rest is

residential.

Five people sustained injuries while evacuating the building hurriedly. Officials of the city‟s

real estate regulator said the building is safe.

Link :http://www.dhakatribune.com/safety/2014/may/29/kalyanpur-high-rise-did-not-tilt-

explosion

http://www.dhakatribune.com/safety/2014/may/29/kalyanpur-high-rise-did-not-tilt-explosionhttp://www.dhakatribune.com/safety/2014/may/29/kalyanpur-high-rise-did-not-tilt-explosionhttp://www.dhakatribune.com/safety/2014/may/29/kalyanpur-high-rise-did-not-tilt-explosionhttp://www.dhakatribune.com/safety/2014/may/29/kalyanpur-high-rise-did-not-tilt-explosionhttp://www.dhakatribune.com/safety/2014/may/29/kalyanpur-high-rise-did-not-tilt-explosionhttp://www.dhakatribune.com/safety/2014/may/29/kalyanpur-high-rise-did-not-tilt-explosion


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Building tilt in Chittagong on January 21, 2014

A seven-storey building has tilted dangerously in Chittagong‟s Muradpur after developing

cracks overnight.

Reason of tilt

There was excavation of soil recently while an adjacent building was being constructed. The

fire service team told the soil excavation nearby cause the building to tilt.

Link: http://bdnews24.com/bangladesh/2014/01/21/building-tilts-in-ctg

Year wise accidental record for Textil e and Clothing sector of Bangladesh

Year Accident Name of the Industries Causalities

1990 Fire Sareka Garments Killed: 32

1996 Fire Lusaka Garments Killed: 2

1997 Fire Rahman & Rahman

Apparels

Killed: 22

Fire Tamanna Garments Killed: 27

http://bdnews24.com/bangladesh/2014/01/21/building-tilts-in-ctghttp://bdnews24.com/bangladesh/2014/01/21/building-tilts-in-ctghttp://bdnews24.com/bangladesh/2014/01/21/building-tilts-in-ctg


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Fire Nouvelle Garment,

Florence Fabric

& Modern Garment

Killed: 5 workers

Injured: 50 workers

2000 Fire Chowdury Knitwear Killed: 53, Injured: 150

2001 Fire Maico Sweater Killed: 24

2002 Fire Globe Knitting Killed12

2004 Fire Misco Supermarket

building

Killed: 9

2005 Buildingcollapse

Spectrum factory Killed: 64, Injured: 64

Fire Shan Knitting Killed: 23

2006 Fire KTS Fabrics Killed: 63, Injured: 150

Fire Jamuna Spinning Mill Killed: 6

Fire Phoenix Fabrics Killed: 21, Injured: 50

Light bulb

burst

Sayem Fashion Killed: 6, Injured: 50

2010 Fire Garib & Garib Sweater Killed: 21, Injured: 10

Fire Hameem group Killed: 26, Injured: 100

2011 Fire Eurotex Killed: 2, Injured: 62

2012 Fire Tazreen Killed: 117, Injured: 300

2013 Fire Smart Fashion Killed: 10, Injured: 35

Building

Collapse

Rana Plaza, a house of 5

clothing units

Killed: 1135

Injured: 1000

Fire Tung Hai Sweater Factory Killed: 8


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2014 Tilting of a

building

Kalyanpur High Rise

Residential Building

Killed: 0

Injured: 5

According to the survey report of BGMEA, a total of 175 fire incidents happened in RMG

units from 1990 to October 2014. The toll of deceased recorded to be 222 in 19 factories.

The report said „One garment factory blazed in 1990, three in 1995, one in 1996, six in 1997,

four in 1998, 16 in 1999, 19 in 2000, 23 in 2001, 09 in 2002, 15 in 2003, 16 in 2004, nine in

2005, 15 in 2006, fourteen in 2007 six in 2008, ten in 2009 and four in 2010‟. The survey

recorded 47 fire incidents from 2006 to January 2010. Of the total, 10 took place due to

electric short circuits and the rest are termed as „unknown reasons‟.

Final_Garments factory Incidents In Bangladesh in the Last Two Decades.pdf

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