Dhaka: Bangladesh on Tuesday defended its decision to snub foreign aid after the collapse of a factory complex as anger flared at the recovery operation and towards the building’s owner when he appeared in court.

With the death toll from the country’s worst ever industrial disaster now standing at 387, Western retailers offered compensation to the victims of last Wednesday’s tragedy on the outskirts of the capital Dhaka.

The government announced plans for another blitz of inspections after it came under pressure from Western brands for a “credible” safety regime in an industry that has a shocking record of disasters.

While foreign help such as sniffer dogs and heat-seeking sensors has been a regular feature of rescue efforts following other large-scale disasters, the government decided it could handle the situation.

“The need for immediate foreign assistance was not felt because our rescue operation has been sufficient and exemplary,” Home Secretary Mushtaq Ahmad told AFP, adding the government was “grateful” for the offers.

Ahmad confirmed Britain was among the foreign governments to offer help.

The UN’s humanitarian advisor in Bangladesh Gerson Brandao said that he had offered the help of specialist rescue teams based in Singapore and Abu Dhabi within hours of the disaster but never received a response.

“These are a group of people who are experts. They have dogs, micro cameras and other equipment that we do not have in Bangladesh,” Brandao told AFP.

Although the exact number of people still missing is not known, there were around 3,000 workers on shift at the time of the disaster and more than 2,400 were rescued from the ruins.

Praise for effort

“Our army, firefighters, police and volunteers did a very good job. We also have enough equipment,” Ahmad added.

There are, however, accusations that the government’s reluctance to accept outside help had a more sinister motive.

Rights activist Hana Shams Ahmad wrote on Facebook that the government was afraid of having international aid workers on the ground as “they don’t want it to be internationally discussed how easily preventable this was”.

“Ultimately, the responsibility of this lies with the government and its chain of corruption, negligence and greed,” added Ahmad.

Distraught relatives who have stayed at the site for news were also critical of the recovery operation, fearing bodies could be pulverised.

Rescuers have begun using heavy lifting equipment, including cranes, after determining there was little chance of finding anyone else alive.

“Our target is to complete the rescue work as fast as possible,” army spokesman Shahinul Islam told AFP.

But Yunus Khan, among a group of around 100 people still awaiting news at the site, told reporters that he feared “the use of this heavy equipment will dash any chances of recovering the bodies”.

Ire at building owner

Relatives have also turned their anger on the owner of the eight-storey building, Sohel Rana, who made his first appearance in court late Monday after being detained at the border with India.

There were chants of “Hang the Killer!” as he was brought before the court in Dhaka on charges of causing death through negligence. He was remanded in custody for a further 15 days.

A top court on Tuesday has asked the government to “immediately” confiscate the property of the owner of the building, AP reported. It also asked the central bank on Tuesday to freeze the assets of the owners of the five garment factories in the building. They said the money should be used to pay salaries and other benefits of the workers. The order came after police produced the building owner and factory owners in court.

— Compiled from agencies