Building collapse not really serious,says Bangladesh finance minister

Bangladeshs finance minister downplayed the impact of last weeks factory-building collapse on his countrys garment industry

Bangladeshs finance minister downplayed the impact of last weeks factory-building collapse on his countrys garment industry,saying he didnt think it was really serious Friday,hours after the 500th body was pulled from the debris.

Finance Minister Abul Maal Abdul Muhith spoke as the government cracked down on those it blamed for the disaster in the Dhaka suburb of Savar. It suspended Savars mayor and arrested an engineer,Abdur Razzak Khan,who had called for the buildings evacuation last week,but was also accused of helping the owner add three illegal floors to the eight-storey structure. The building owner was arrested earlier.

The government appears to be attempting to fend off accusations that it is in part to blame for the tragedy because of weak oversight of the buildings construction.

During a visit to the New Delhi,Muhith said the disaster would not harm Bangladeshs garment industry,which is by far the countrys biggest source of export income.

The present difficulties 8230; well,I dont think it is really serious its an accident, he said. And the steps that we have taken in order to make sure that it doesnt happen,they are quite elaborate and I believe that it will be appreciated by all.

The April 24 collapse is likely the deadliest garment-factory accident in world history.

At the site of the collapse,the official death toll reached 501 Friday and was expected to climb. Workers carefully used cranes to remove the concrete rubble and continue the slow task of recovering bodies.

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Meanwhile,a top investigator probing the disaster in Bangladesh Friday blamed vibrations from four illegal generators for the collapse of the Rana Plaza building.

The preliminary findings of the government probe,as described by lead investigator Main Uddin Khandekar,gave the clearest explanation yet for the tragedy.

Four huge generators were set up on each of the top floors,violating rules8230; When started after a power cut,they created vibration,and together with the vibration of thousands of sewing machines,they triggered the collapse, he said.