On 24 April 2013, an eight-storey building collapsed in Savar, an industrial suburb located on the outskirts of the capital, Dhaka. More than 3,000 people were working in factories and shops housed inside the building when it caved in. Volunteers and staff from the Bangladesh Red Crescent Society (BDRCS) rushed to the spot and established a mobile first aid camp to assist the wounded.
The Red Crescent volunteers worked alongside other first responders in the search & rescue operation, and helped with the management of dead bodies. Red Crescent ambulances transported the injured survivors to various hospitals. While 1,127 bodies were recovered from the wreckage, 2,438 people were rescued alive.
The ICRC delegation in Dhaka supported the Red Crescent with 1160 body bags, 20 helmets and pairs of gloves as well as mobile phones to help survivors to give news to their families.
Friends and families of missing workers sought news of their loved ones at the Red Crescent camp in Savar. Volunteers visited the hospitals where the injured were being treated to give them the chance to inform their family of their condition and whereabouts. Over the three weeks of the rescue operation, the Red Crescent met with family members of 457 missing workers, recorded their personal details and tried to locate their relatives among the injured and dead. Up to 16 May, more than 70 people had been located, the living reunited with their loved ones and the deceased handed over to families for burial.
Throughout the entire operation, 205 trained volunteers of Bangladesh Red Crescent worked round the clock in two shifts. While some of them were involved in searching for people trapped in the collapsed building, others provided First Aid to the wounded, while others made efforts to reunite separated family members.
Youths from the Red Crescent cut through piles of steel, iron and concrete to find people buried underneath.
Since the onset of the disaster, the Red Crescent makeshift camp in Savar provided first aid not only to the injured survivors, but also to other first responders.
Dignified and proper management of the dead in disasters is fundamental in helping families know the fate of their relatives and mourn their dead. A team of Red Crescent volunteers supported the rescuers in carrying the deceased. For identification purposes, physical features and personal belongings were noted down before the bodies were placed inside body bags supplied by the ICRC. 293 bodies still remain unidentified, of which 187 have been tested for DNA.
Wednesday 22 May 2012
http://www.icrc.org/eng/resources/documents/photo-gallery/2013/05-21-bangladesh-savar-tragedy.htm
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