Checks find flaws in Bangladesh garment factories

Source: AP-Excite

By KAY JOHNSON and JULHAS ALAM

DHAKA, Bangladesh (AP) - Inspections of Bangladesh garment factories under a new safety initiative have found cracked support beams, extra floors apparently built without a permit and exposed electrical cables chewed by rats.

Overly heavy structures on roofs, substandard building materials and even an unauthorized helicopter pad were also among the problems revealed in the first round of inspection reports released Tuesday.

The inspections are being funded by a group of mostly European fashion brands in the aftermath of the Rana Plaza factory collapse that killed more than 1,100 people in April last year. They plan to check some 1,500 garment factories in Bangladesh this year. The country's garment industry, its biggest export earner, has more than 5,000 factories overall.

The collapse of Rana Plaza in Dhaka highlighted grim conditions in Bangladesh's garment industry, which has become a major supplier to global fashion brands and retailers, attracted by wages lower than China and other developing countries.

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This Feb. 12, 2014 photo, shows a Bangladeshi garment factory in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Inspections of Bangladesh garment factories under a new safety initiative have found cracked support beams, substandard building materials and exposed electrical cables chewed by rats. The Bangladesh Accord Foundation that is overseeing the safety pact said 250 more inspections will be completed by the end of March 2014. The safety pact was formed after a garment factory in Dhaka collapsed year, killing more than 1,100 people. (AP Photo/A.M. Ahad)