Death Toll

Search ends in Bangladesh; death toll put at 1127

Savar: Several of the biggest Western retailers embraced a plan that would require them to pay for factory improvements in Bangladesh as the three-week search for victims of the worst garment-industry disaster in history ended on Monday with the death toll at a staggering 1,127.

Bangladesh's government also agreed to allow garment workers to form unions without permission from factory owners. That decision came a day after it announced a plan to raise the minimum wage in the industry.

The collapse of the eight-story Rana Plaza factory building April 24, 2013 focused worldwide attention on hazardous conditions in Bangladesh's garment industry, where workers sew low-cost clothing that ends up on store shelves around the globe, including the US and Western Europe.

The tragedy came months after a fire at another garment factory in Bangladesh killed 112 workers....more    

Bangladesh building collapse toll goes past 1,100

Savar: The death toll in Bangladesh's worst industrial disaster on Sunday rose to 1,125 after 15 more decomposed bodies were recovered from the debris of the ill-fated eight-storey building, 19 days after the tragedy. Rain has caused delays in recovery operations as overnight rainstorms forced rescuers to suspend work for several hours, and more rain today morning caused a brief delay. By afternoon, crews were back at work as they...  

Bangladesh factory building collapse death toll hits 1,021

Dhaka: The death toll from a garment factory building that collapsed more than two weeks ago outside the Bangladeshi capital soared past 1,000 on Friday, while the list of the dead from a fresh fire at a sweater manufacturer showed the entanglement of the industry and top Bangladeshi officials. Officials said 1,021 bodies have been recovered from the rubble of the fallen factory building as of Friday morning. There was...  

Bangladesh: Building collapse toll reaches 362

Savar: Bangladeshi rescuers on Sunday launched the second phase of rescue operations, as they found little evidence of survivors under tonnes of debris of the 8-storey building that collapsed this week, leaving 362 people dead. "I would like to tell you, we are getting little rhythm of life under the debris. Even if some people are alive they are not responding," said Major General Hassan Sarwardy, Commander of the rescue...  

Bangladesh building collapse: Death toll rises to 270

Dhaka: The search for survivors from Bangladesh's worst industrial accident stretched into a third day on Friday, with the death toll rising to 273 after the collapse of a building housing factories that made low-cost garments for Western brands. Almost miraculously, 41 people trapped inside the rubble of the eight-storey building were rescued alive late on Thursday, government minister Jahangir Kabir Nanak said, about 40 hours after the disaster on...  

7.8 magnitude earthquake kills five in Pakistan

Islamabad: At least five persons were killed and several others injured when buildings collapsed in Balochistan province of southwest Pakistan on Tuesday during a massive earthquake that was felt across the region. The five deaths were recorded in the remote Kharan district of Balochistan, state-run Radio Pakistan reported. TV news channels quoted security officials as saying that three children and two women were killed when several buildings collapsed in Mashkel...  

Municipality goes on demolition drive in Thane

Thane: The police on Saturday finally made a breakthrough in the Thane building collapse with the arrest of two of the building's builders. However, survivors are losing hope as the Municipal Corporation goes into a demolition overdrive. "I am threatening the Chief Minister. If he doesn't respond, I will go on a strike outside his office. I am 70-year-old and my father has also died as a freedom fighter. I...  

Thane building collapse: Woman rescued alive

Thane: A woman, stuck under the debris of the illegal building in Thane that collapsed on Thursday evening, was rescued alive after 24 hours. The woman was talking to her rescuers after she was pulled out of the debris. She was taken to Thane Civil Hospital in an ambulance after her rescue. However, many children are still buried under the debris. Fifty eight people have reportedly died and over 60...  

Thane building collapse: Death toll rises to 48

Mumbai: Forty eight people have reportedly died and over 60 have been injured in Maharashtra's worst building collapse in a decade, after a seven-storied under-construction illegal building collapsed in Thane on Thursday. According to the Thane Deputy Collector, the dead included 12 children and five women and over 36 people have sustained serious injuries in the incident. The National Disaster Response Force, which is leading the rescue efforts, said many...  

Death toll in Bangladesh tornado climbs to 23

The death toll from a tornado that swept through some 25 villages in eastern Bangladesh, rose to 23 with rescuers finding three more bodies in debris, a day after the deadly storm which also left nearly 500 people injured. The storm which hit the area on Friday, left a trail of destruction in 20 villages of Brahmanbaria sadar, Bijoynagar and Akhaura upazilas. ...  

Hyderabad twin blasts: Death toll rises to 17

The death toll in Hyderabad twin blasts rose to 17 on Wednesday with an injured person succumbing while undergoing treatment at a private hospital, sources said. ...  

Bangladesh: 3 more killed in fresh clashes, toll crosses 80

Violence continued unabated on the second day of the 48-hour nationwide strike in Bangladesh on Monday as the death toll rose to 83 in clashes that erupted after the conviction of three top Islamist leaders for 1971 war crimes. ...  

Andhra: 17 die in two days as rains wreak havoc

As many as 17 people have lost their lives in the last two days in rain-related incidents in Andhra Pradesh, with heavy downpour causing extensive damage to crops, officials said on Sunday. Most of the deaths were after being struck by thunderbolts and due to electrocution, they said, adding that crops in 1,47,986 hectares have been damaged due to the heavy rains. ...  

Solomons tsunami: Three more dead bodies found

Aid workers struggled to reach remote, tsunami-ravaged villages in the Solomon Islands on February 7, as the death toll rose with more bodies found in wrecked homes and debris in the South Pacific island chain. At least nine people, including a child, were killed when a powerful earthquake set off a small tsunami that sent 1.5-meter (4 foot, 11-inch) waves roaring inland on Santa Cruz Island, in the eastern Solomons,...  

Madhya Pradesh: 10 feared dead in wall collapse

An under-construction wall in a village in Rewa collapsed on Monday afternoon, killing around 10 people. ...  

Cold wave across North, East India continues; death toll up to 40

The death toll due to the intense cold wave currently enveloping north and east India has risen to 40. Even though the Meteorology Department has forecast a slight improvement in the weather condition on Friday, with officials predicting a clear sky and light mist in the morning, cold winds are expected to sweep parts of the region. ...  

Sri Lanka floods: Death toll climbs to 25, 14 missing

Colombo (Sri Lanka): Sri Lanka's government says the death toll from flash floods and mudslides following three days of heavy rain across the country has climbed to 25, with another 14 people missing. The Disaster Management Center said in a report Thursday that the floods have also destroyed more than 300 homes and displaced nearly 20,000 people. ...  

Factory fire kills over 100 in Bangladesh

Dhaka: Over 100 people were killed overnight after a fire engulfed a multi-storey garment factory on the outskirts of Bangladesh's capital Dhaka, officials said on Sunday. The fire broke out in the ground-floor warehouse of Tazreen Fashion factory, 30 km north of Dhaka, on Saturday evening, trapping hundreds of workers on the upper floors. "The toll exceeded 100, I fear toll could rise as bodies are still being retrieved," an...  

Death toll in Gaza reaches 100: Health Ministry

Gaza: The number of Palestinians killed in Gaza during Israel's on-going offensive reached 100 on Monday, the Hamas-run Health Ministry said. On his Facebook page, ministry spokesman Ashraf Al-Qidra listed Mohammed Tbail, killed in an air strike in Nusseirat refugee camp, as the 100th Palestinian fatality. Qidra said the Palestinian dead included 24 children and 10 women. Ministry figures for the number of men killed in the conflict with Israel...  

Hurricane Sandy: Death toll rises to 65 in Caribbean

Port-au-Prince, Haiti: As Americans braced Sunday for Hurricane Sandy, Haiti was still suffering. Officials raised the storm-related death toll across the Caribbean to 65, with 51 of those coming in Haiti, which was pelted by three days of constant rains that ended only on Friday. As the rains stopped and rivers began to recede, authorities were getting a fuller idea of how much damage Sandy brought on Haiti. Bridges collapsed....