Edition 1

Not present

Rana Plaza Collapse

Not present

On 24 April 2013, Rana Plaza collapsed in Savar, killing more than 1,100 people and injuring more than 2,000. The commercial building held garment factories as well as shops and a bank. Large cracks had appeared the previous day, yet garment production resumed. The disaster exposed failures in construction, inspection, workplace power, and the international fashion supply chain.

Not present

24 April 2013

Not present

Former Rana Plaza site

Not present

Bangladesh's ready-made garment industry had grown into a major export sector linking millions of workers to international brands and retailers. Factory production often occupied buildings not designed for heavy machinery, while municipal approvals, inspections, labor rights, and emergency systems were weak. Rana Plaza had received additional floors and housed several factories whose machinery imposed demanding loads and vibration.

Not present

Visible cracks prompted evacuation on 23 April. The bank and shops did not reopen the next morning, but many garment workers returned after pressure and assurances that the building was safe. Power failed and generators started. At about 9 in the morning, structural elements failed and floors fell onto one another, trapping thousands beneath concrete and machinery.

Not present

Firefighters, soldiers, medical teams, volunteers, relatives, and surviving workers searched the debris for days. Hospitals treated crush injuries, amputations, infection, and trauma. Families struggled to identify victims and document employment. Criminal cases, compensation negotiations, and demands for brand accountability followed, while survivors faced disability, lost income, grief, and long-term health needs.

Not present

The collapse accelerated factory inspection and remediation programs, amendments to labor law, and new arrangements for compensation. The Accord on Fire and Building Safety created a legally binding model involving brands and trade unions, while government and industry programs inspected many other factories. Debate continues over worker voice, purchasing practices, enforcement, and whether reforms can endure across changing agreements and institutions.

Not present

Rana Plaza made the hidden geography of clothing production visible to consumers around the world. It demonstrates that structural safety is inseparable from labor power, regulatory capacity, commercial deadlines, and the purchasing decisions of companies far from the factory floor.

Not present

Memorial actions, survivor organizations, photographs, court files, inspection databases, and the former building site preserve different parts of the record. Bangladesh's garment sector continues to operate at global scale, and workplace-safety agreements remain an important test of whether lessons from the collapse are institutional rather than temporary.

Not present

Published death and injury totals vary slightly by source and by the treatment of unidentified or later deaths. Accounts also differ on the building's floor count and the exact sequence of structural failure. The evidence consistently records prior cracking, resumed factory work, unauthorized or unsuitable construction, and catastrophic progressive collapse.

Not present

Chaos Tourist editorial

Not present

The Rana Plaza building collapse, 100 days on
Rescue and Emergency Management of a Man-Made Disaster: Lesson Learnt from a Collapse Factory Building, Bangladesh
The Current Health and Wellbeing of the Survivors of the Rana Plaza Building Collapse in Bangladesh
International Accord for Health and Safety in the Textile and Garment Industry

Not present

On 24 April 2013, Rana Plaza collapsed in Savar, killing more than 1,100 people and injuring more than 2,000.
Visible cracks prompted evacuation on 23 April.
Published death and injury totals vary slightly by source and by the treatment of unidentified or later deaths.
Rana Plaza made the hidden geography of clothing production visible to consumers around the world.