Name: Md.
Sanjidul Islam Tangil
Roll: FH-166-024
Rana Plaza Tragedy
Introduction
The dangerous collapse of Rana Plaza, A commercial building in Savar in Dhaka on April 24 in 2013,
resulted that the deaths of 1,134 people and more than 2,500 injured. The building formed with
numerous clothing factories that made clothes for global brands. The Rana Plaza tragedy is one of the
most deadliest industrial accidents ever documented.
Building Structure & Engineering Failures
Rana Plaza, constructed in 2006 over a former pond, was an eight-story reinforced concrete
commercial complex with two basement levels. Initially, it housed shops, offices, and a bank on the
ground floor, on the contrary upper floors were hired by garment factories. However, the structure
had not been designed to accommodate industrial operations. It was mainly for office use, and experts
had warned that it for the weight and vibrations of large textile machinery. The building’s approved
design become problematic when additional floors (5th to 8th) were illegally added without proper
structural reinforcements. These unlawful extensions lacked proper load-bearing capacity.
Photographs show the changed vertical expansion with the eight-story layout differing from the main
design. The building composed with substandard materials, including poor-quality concrete and
insufficient steel reinforcement. It was built over former pond land, the soil foundation was weak,
further undermining its stability. On April 24 in 2013, during a power outage, rooftop generators were
switched on, producing extensive vibrations and moving loads that further stressed the already fragile
building.
The report on the collapse specifically mentions: "Several issues such as the building being
constructed on a filled pond, which affected its structural integrity, changing from commercial to
industrial use without authorization, adding four floors without the original permit, and using
substandard construction materials that caused overload and vibrations from generators and heavy
machinery."
The engineering failure resulted from various factors: an unstable foundation and additional
modifications that overcome the building codes, causing the infrastructure to be too weak to support
its load. On the 23rd of April in 2013, just one day before the collapse, numerous substantial cracks
founded in multiple load-bearing columns and walls. Moreover, The pieces of concrete falling and
pillars breaking. The breaks led officials to off the nearby bank and shops on the ground floor because
of the building was no longer safe for the public. The owner, Sohel Rana declared that the building
was secured and warned workers that their wages would not be given to them if they don’t do work.
In summary, the building collapsed mainly due to its structure such as inadequate design,
unauthorized floors, and low-quality of materials. The collapse occurred less than a minute after the
loud noises at 8:54 AM, when the building failed to hold its own weight and the pressure of the
machinery.
Workers, Factories and Demographics
Rana Plaza composed with complex garment factories. It had five individual textile factories, also a
bank and shops on the ground floor. The five companies named were New Wave Style (located on the
6th-7th floors), Ether Tex (5th floor), Phantom Tac (4th floor), Phantom Apparels (3rd floor), and
New Wave Bottoms (2nd floor). The Plaza's textile factories had about 5,000 employees working in
different shifts. In morning, More than 3,122 workers were present in the building at the time of the
collapse.
The majority workers were garment production staff, including sewing machine operators, line
supervisors, quality inspectors, and other assembly-line positions. On the lower levels, there were
numerous bank employees and shopkeepers present. Human Rights Watch and other local sources
found that more than 50% of the victims were women. Surviving witnesses and relatives confirmed
that died or injured were mostly female garment workers. Among them majority were young women
from rural areas. Many individuals witnessed that some children also affected by it.
Involved People and Organizations
The Rana Plaza tragedy involved several parties. The building owner, Mohammad Sohel Rana, also
was a local politician and businessman.. He was charged for allowing the unauthorized extension of
floors also managed the factory managers to start operations despite the absolute risk. The Rajdhani
Unnayan Kartripakkha filed a case in the next day in the name of the owner of the building and the
owners of five garment factories. Three days after the collapse, the Prime Minister ordered for
arresting Sohel Rana and four factory owners. Sohel Rana was eventually caught. In 2015, a Dhaka
court officially accused 38 people (including Rana) for neglecting the homicide in the collapse.
Furthermore, he was accused of another corruption case for unauthorized floor additions and for
breaching the National Building Code.
In 2017, 10 individuals (including the owner and managers) were officially accused of breaking
Bangladesh's National Building Code during the construction of Rana Plaza. Local government
officials were also accused for it. Engineer Abdur Razak Khan visited Rana Plaza on April 23 and
stated that building was not structurally sound. He was arrested later for supposedly assisting the
owner in illegally adding floors. Also Kabir Hossain Sardar, Upazila Nirbahi Officer, also met with
Rana and unexpectedly announced that the building was safe. Officials who were responsible for
enforcing building laws appeared to have failed or colluded in these actions. The Business Social
Compliance Initiative (BSCI) was also criticized, because of the factory inspections conducted before
the collapse had failed to identify the permit infractions.
Conclusion
The collapse of the Rana Plaza was a tragic consequences of major structural engineering errors along
with widespread regulatory indifference. The illegal changes made to the building and its poor
construction led to its collapse under the weight of heavy machinery, and the fatalities that over 1,100
workers underscored the human toll of inadequate supervision. After the incident, Bangladesh and the
worldwide garment industry implemented changes.
References:
1. A decade after Rana Plaza's collapse, factories are safer but women garment workers face new
threats - The Fuller Project
2. Rana Plaza collapse - Wikipedia
3. The Rana Plaza disaster ten years on: What has changed? - InfoStories
4. Rana Plaza survivors fearful as they continue to work in garment factories - The Guardian
5. Bangladesh: Rana Plaza owner, 9 others indicted for violating building code - Business & Human
Rights Resource Centre
6. Five years after the building collaps in Bangladesh - still nobody has been tried for any crimes -
CTIF International Association of Fire Services for Safer Citizens through Skilled Firefighters
7. Bangladesh: 2 Years After Rana Plaza, Workers Denied Rights - Human Rights Watch
8. Structural failure: 2013 Rana Plaza factory collapse - RTF
9. After two years, the Rana Plaza fund finally reaches its $30m target - The Guardian
10. Examining the Threads: Bangladesh's Ready-Made Garment Industry Under Global Scrutiny -
Brooklyn Sports & Entertainment Law Blog
11. Rana Plaza Collapse: Engineering Negligence Behind Bangladesh’s Deadliest Garment Factory
Disaster - Civil Gurukul
