DHAKA, 12 April 2005 — A nine-story garment factory collapsed following a boiler explosion early yesterday, killing at least 20 people and trapping 200 others, police and rescuers said.

Hundreds of factory workers are feared trapped and killed under the rubble of the building that collapsed like a house of cards near Bangladesh’s capital, survivors said.

Police said at least 300 people were in the sweater-making factory near Savar, an industrial town 32 km northwest of the capital Dhaka, when it collapsed.

Twenty bodies have so far been recovered and “we fear more than 200 people are still beneath the rubble,” said Selim Newaz Bhuiyan, a fire brigade official at the scene.

At least 100 injured workers were pulledfrom the debris and taken to hospitals, he said.

The army brought in sniffer dogs and heavy equipment, including cranes, to the site by yesterday afternoon. They used welding machines to cut holes in the rubble to try to reach trapped people or pump air to survivors. They said narrow roads leading to the collapse site had restricted access for cranes and other rescue equipment.

“We will work through the night and expect to complete the rescue operation by tomorrow,” one official said.

Anxious relatives joined rescuers searching for survivors in the flattened remains of the building.

“In a few minutes the entire structure crumbled like a house of cards,” a witness told a private television channel.

A massive pile of bricks and concrete slabs is all that remains of the building. Rescuers and relatives stood helplessly on top, some calling for loved ones.

“We suspect up to 500 people are under the debris. It was a packed night shift running ... and dozens may have died already,” a survivor told reporters on the scene.

Prime Minister Khaleda Zia flew to the site of the incident in the afternoon and was visibly shocked at the enormity of the destruction. “I want you to mobilize all strength and resources to speed up the rescue efforts and not to let anyone die due to negligence,” the prime minister said.

She said the government would do everything possible to help survivors and families of the dead.

Police said the collapse was probably triggered by a boiler explosion at the factory. Fire brigade officials said they would investigate further to determine the exact cause.

Shahid Alam, an official of the Dhaka Development Authority, said the factory had been built on marshland without planning permission.

State Minister for Home Affairs, Lutfuzzaman Babar, visited the scene yesterday, and expressed his annoyance over what he said was its unauthorized construction.

The whereabouts of the building’s owners was not immediately known.

Anxious residents used mobile phones to try to contact relatives trapped beneath the rubble. “Until a few minutes ago, my brother Jamal was calling me on my mobile for help. But now he has gone quiet,” Ruma Begum said.

“I am still frantically trying to reach him on his mobile ... but there is no response. Only Allah knows what has happened,” she told reporters.