Death toll in Bangladesh building collapse passes 400

PanARMENIAN.Net - The number of people killed in the collapse of a factory building on the outskirts of the Bangladeshi capital, Dhaka, has passed 400, officials say, according to BBC News.

A senior army official also said that a list of 149 people still missing had been compiled from relatives.

Thousands marched in May Day parades in Dhaka on Tuesday, April 29, demanding the death penalty for the factory owner.

The Rana Plaza, which housed five factories, collapsed last Wednesday - the nation's worst industrial disaster.

A military spokesman confirmed to the AFP news agency that the death toll now stood at 402. The army general said the list of the missing had been drawn up by local officials and was confirmed by Dhaka district administrator Zillur Rahman Chowdhury.

Earlier estimates had put the figure far higher but this may have been as a result of duplications.

The building was turned into 600 tons of rubble in the disaster, about 350 tons of which has now been cleared.

The number of people at the Dhaka protest was put at about 20,000. Some held banners with the words: "Hang the killers, Hang the Factory Owners".