DHAKA, 28 February 2006 — The toll rose to 20 as hopes faded yesterday of finding any more survivors trapped in the rubble of a five-story building which collapsed here at the weekend.
“More than fifty hours have gone by since the building collapsed and now the chances of anyone surviving are very thin,” said operations director of the Bangladesh Fire Department, Maj. Jahiruddin Mohammad Babar.
“Still we are battling, though, and hope that miraculously some people may still be found alive in gaps inside the wreckage.” More than 500 army engineers and firemen are working at the site to drill through the floors which collapsed Saturday and six cranes are being used to hoist concrete slabs.
Firefighters are also pumping oxygen into the wreckage and using loudspeakers to appeal to anyone still alive to call out for help.
On Sunday two people were pulled out of the debris alive. The 1960s-era building collapsed while undergoing unauthorized renovation. Babar said three storys, including the one containing most of the victims, had been searched.
Two bodies were pulled from the debris yesterday, pushing the death toll to 20, said army Sgt. Mahmud Ali, adding that 47 injured were admitted to two hospitals.
The parents of one of the victims had been waiting at the scene all night after traveling from the southern district of Jhalokati.
Brig. Gen. Nizam Ahmed, head of the rescue operation, said 30 percent of the work had been completed but three more days would be needed to search the entire 20,000-square-foot (1,800-square-meter) building.
“We are working slowly, still hoping that we may find some person alive,” he added.
The Phoenix Building housed street-level shops and small offices.
