More than 1,100 people were killed when the Rana Plaza textile factory collapsed in 2013. The tragedy drew attention to poor safety standards in Bangladesh's lucrative garment industry.
The eight-story Rana Plaza factory complex supplied clothing to major brandsImage: picture-alliance/dpa/A. Abdullah
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Bangladesh has resumed the murder trial in the collapse of a textile factory after five years of appeals and legal holdups, court officials confirmed.
More than 1,100 workers died when the Rana Plaza factory complex came down on the outskirts of the capital, Dhaka, on April 24, 2013.
In 2016, 41 people were charged with murder for their suspected roles in the disaster, including the building's owner, Sohel Rana, his parents and factory executives.
They were accused of signing off on building standards and forcing employees to work inside the eight-story building despite knowing that it was not structurally sound. But the case was put on hold for more than five years because some defendants tried to appeal the indictment in court.
Bangladesh textile factory inspections to stop
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'Too much time has been wasted'
This week, a judge ordered the trial to resume for 36 of the original defendants. Three have since died, while the cases of two defendants appealing their indictments will be considered separately.
"We want to conclude the trial as quickly as possible. Already too much time has been wasted," chief public prosecutor Sheikh Hemayet Hossain told the AFP news agency. "The building didn't have any [construction] plan. It would shake when machines were switched on. And the owner of the building, Sohel Rana, used hired muscle to force the workers to go to work on the day of the collapse."
Bangladesh: Four years after Rana Plaza factory collapse, suffering remains
Bangladesh's garment industry is worth some $35 billion (€31 billion) and accounts for more than 80% of the country's exports.
Bangladesh's worst building disasters
Devastating fires and building collapses are fairly common in Bangladesh, where safety regulations are often poorly enforced. Here are some of the worst tragedies in the impoverished country.
Image: Reuters/M. Ponir Hossain
Rana Plaza disaster, 2013
The collapse of the nine-story Rana Plaza garment factory in Dhaka on April 24, 2013, is one of the world's worst industrial accidents. More than 1,100 people were killed and another 2,000 were injured in the tragedy.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/A. Abdullah
After the collapse
The disaster shed light on the poor safety conditions in Bangladeshi factories, many of which produce clothing for Western brands. Dozens of people, including Rana Plaza's owner, are standing trial for negligence. Despite some reforms to improve safety in the billion-dollar industry, Bangladeshi textile workers remain some of the lowest paid in the world.
Image: Imago/Xinhua
Nimtoli explosion, 2010
Bangladesh's deadliest industrial blaze to date tore through one of Dhaka's most densely populated areas on June 3, 2010, killing 117 people. A number of multi-story apartment buildings and shops in the Nimtoli district went up in flames after an electrical transformer exploded.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/epa/A. Abdullah
Ashulia garment factory fire, 2012
At least 112 workers were killed in a fire at the nine-story Tazreen Fashion factory in the outskirts of Dhaka on November 24, 2012. An investigation later found it was caused by arson and that managers at the Ashulia district plant had locked the gates to prevent victims from getting out. Above, a soldier inspects a room of charred sewing machines.
Image: Reuters
Chawkbazar blaze, 2019
At least 70 people were killed in a fire that engulfed apartment blocks in a historic Dhaka shopping district on February 20, 2019. The blaze began in a property in Chawkbazar where chemicals for household products were being stored illegally, before quickly spreading to several other buildings. It took almost 12 hours for firefighters to put out the flames.
Image: picture-alliance/Xinhua/S. Reza
Tongi factory fire, 2016
A fire triggered by a boiler explosion at a cigarette packaging factory north of Dhaka on September 10 killed some 31 people. Chemicals stored on the ground floor of the Tongi warehouse are thought to have helped the blaze spread quickly.
Image: picture-alliance/ZUMAPRESS.com
Gazipur factory collapse, 2017
A boiler explosion was also behind the collapse of garment factory in Gazipur, a city north of the capital, on July 4, 2017. Thirteen people were killed. Fortunately, thousands of workers were away for the Eid holidays.
