Authorities in Bangladesh have closed 18 garment factories in an attempt to prevent a repeat of last month's building collapse, in which the death toll passed 800 Wednesday.
The closures follow a series of protests since the April 24 collapse with garment workers striking against what they claim are unsafe working conditions in their industry.
Late afternoon Wednesday, police said they have recovered 803 bodies from the wreckage of the eight-story building and that they expect the number of casualties to rise.
Deadly Accidents in Bangladesh
Deadly Accidents in Bangladesh
April 2013: Building housing garment factories in Savar collapses, kills 1,127November 2012: Garment factory fire outside Dhaka kills more than 100
March 2012: Ferry sinks after colliding with oil barge, killing more than 100
April 2005: Garment factory collapse in Savar kills more than 70
May 2002: River ferry sinks, killing up to 500
More than 3,000 people were employed in the building, and some 2,500 survived.
But hope for more survivors has long faded, as authorities say they have found it increasingly difficult to identify the bodies from the April 24th collapse. They say they are relying in many cases on the identification cards and mobile phones found in the pockets of the deceased.
Authorities have arrested at least nine people in the aftermath of the accident.
Among the detainees are the owner of the building, the owners of several factories housed inside and engineers responsible for the building's construction.
Bangladesh's $20-billion textile industry accounts for nearly 80 percent of the country's exports. Several foreign textile companies have pledged to provide assistance to the families of those killed while making their goods.
Bangladesh to End Search for Building Collapse Victims
Authorities in Bangladesh say they are preparing to end the search for victims of a building collapse that killed more than 1,100 people last month.
