Thousands of mourners today offered special prayers at the site of Bangladesh's worst industrial disaster that claimed 1,127 lives as rescuers wrapped up the salvage operation launched in the aftermath of the tragedy.
Government ministers and senior leaders joined the prayers, mourning for the victims as officials said at least 176 people were still missing after 20 days of search operations during which army troops, fire fighters and volunteers rescued 2,444 people.
"The rescue operations for bodies and survivors is declared ended," commander of the salvage campaign Major General Chowdhury Hassan Sarwardy earlier announced at the site while a statement by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina mourning the deaths and thanking the rescuers was read out ahead of the prayers.
Witnesses said the excavators and huge hydraulic cranes were moved out of the site after roaring for nights and days, picking up tonnes of steel as the civil administration took over the charge of carrying out the subsequent tasks of listing the missing people and providing immediate compensations for victim families.
The development came four days after an 18-year-old garment worker called Reshma who was rescued alive as the last miracle survivor but officials were unclear exactly how many inmates were inside the building when it caved in.
At least 834 bodies have been handed over to relatives after they were identified, many by their mobile phones which were found in their pockets or identity cards hanging around their necks.
Officials, however, said the missing people could be among the decomposed bodies of 234 unidentified people who were buried at a government graveyard after DNA tests the reports of which were expected to be matched with relatives later while 59 more bodies were still kept at the morgue.
Police so far arrested 12 people over the tragedy, including the owner of the building and four garment factory owners who were accused of forcing workers to return to work a day after cracks were reported at the structure though some 300 shops and branch of a private bank was kept shut fearing the disaster.
Global clothing giants Inditex and H&M, meanwhile, promised to sign up to a plan to improve safety for workers in the factories producing for them while Walmart asked Bangladesh government to stop production at one apparel factory until safety standards were complied and investigate the condition at another.
