Dozens of people have been found alive in one room of a collapsed factory block in Bangladesh, TV reports are saying.
Loud cheers broke out among the crowd of thousands of people massing at the scene near the country's capital Dhaka when the news broke.
First reports put the number rescued at 40 but another spokesman later said it was 24.
More than 247 people are so far known to have died in Wednesday's disaster at the factory which supplied several British store chains including Primark.
The rescue came as it was reported that the owner of one of the garment factories which ignored order to stop working had fled.
Around 3,000 worked in the building and at least 1,000 are said to have been injured.
Army Brigadier General Mohammed Siddiqul Alam Shikder said late on Thursday that hundreds more people may still trapped in the building.
Screams were heard coming through the cracks in the concrete suggesting more survivors were awaiting help.
Throughout the day on Thursday a steady stream of bodies had been pulled out forcing the recorded death toll to almost double.
Earlier it emerged that officers ordered the building to be evacuated the day before it collapsed but clothing factories that worked there continued operating, ignoring police instructions.
The order was made after deep cracks became visible on Tuesday.
Managers of a bank that also had an office in the building, evacuated their workers and suspended their operations.
The Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association had also asked the factories to suspend work starting on Wednesday morning, just hours before the building fell.
"After we got the crack reports, we asked them to suspend work until further examination, but they did not pay heed," said Atiqul Islam, the group's president.
Survivors described hearing a loud crack just before the eight-storey building collapsed, with each level pancaking on top of those below.
The building, in Savar on the outskirts of the capital Dhaka, housed at least four factories producing clothes for leading Western retailers.
The high street giant Primark has confirmed that one of its suppliers occupied the second floor of the building.
In a statement released on the company's website, a Primark spokesman said: "The company is shocked and deeply saddened by this appalling incident at Savar, near Dhaka, and expresses its condolences to all of those involved."
Tens of thousands of people have gathered at the site, weeping and searching for family members.
Bangladesh's prime minister vowed that the garment factory owner who fled would be tracked down and punished.
"Those who're involved, especially the owner who forced the workers to work there, will be punished," Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina told members of Bangladesh's parliament.
"Wherever he is, he will be found and brought to justice," she added.
Elsewhere in Bangladesh, hundreds of thousands of workers walked out of their factories in solidarity with their dead colleagues.
Some workers' leaders attacked western firms, who they accused of turning "a blind eye" while using Bangladeshis as "money-making machines".
Loud cheers broke out among the crowd of thousands of people massing at the scene near the country's capital Dhaka when the news broke.
First reports put the number rescued at 40 but another spokesman later said it was 24.
More than 247 people are so far known to have died in Wednesday's disaster at the factory which supplied several British store chains including Primark.
The rescue came as it was reported that the owner of one of the garment factories which ignored order to stop working had fled.
Around 3,000 worked in the building and at least 1,000 are said to have been injured.
Army Brigadier General Mohammed Siddiqul Alam Shikder said late on Thursday that hundreds more people may still trapped in the building.
Screams were heard coming through the cracks in the concrete suggesting more survivors were awaiting help.
Throughout the day on Thursday a steady stream of bodies had been pulled out forcing the recorded death toll to almost double.
Earlier it emerged that officers ordered the building to be evacuated the day before it collapsed but clothing factories that worked there continued operating, ignoring police instructions.
The order was made after deep cracks became visible on Tuesday.
Managers of a bank that also had an office in the building, evacuated their workers and suspended their operations.
The Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association had also asked the factories to suspend work starting on Wednesday morning, just hours before the building fell.
"After we got the crack reports, we asked them to suspend work until further examination, but they did not pay heed," said Atiqul Islam, the group's president.
Survivors described hearing a loud crack just before the eight-storey building collapsed, with each level pancaking on top of those below.
The building, in Savar on the outskirts of the capital Dhaka, housed at least four factories producing clothes for leading Western retailers.
The high street giant Primark has confirmed that one of its suppliers occupied the second floor of the building.
In a statement released on the company's website, a Primark spokesman said: "The company is shocked and deeply saddened by this appalling incident at Savar, near Dhaka, and expresses its condolences to all of those involved."
Tens of thousands of people have gathered at the site, weeping and searching for family members.
Bangladesh's prime minister vowed that the garment factory owner who fled would be tracked down and punished.
"Those who're involved, especially the owner who forced the workers to work there, will be punished," Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina told members of Bangladesh's parliament.
"Wherever he is, he will be found and brought to justice," she added.
Elsewhere in Bangladesh, hundreds of thousands of workers walked out of their factories in solidarity with their dead colleagues.
Some workers' leaders attacked western firms, who they accused of turning "a blind eye" while using Bangladeshis as "money-making machines".
Source : SkyNews
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