June 01--REPORTING FROM DHAKA, Bangladesh -- Authorities in Bangladesh charged 42 people with murder on Monday in the 2013 collapse of a garment factory building that killed more than 1,100 people and drew worldwide attention to dangerous conditions in one of the world's major textile industries.
The building's owner, Sohel Rana, and several others who owned factories inside the Rana Plaza complex were among those charged in connection with their roles in the collapse of the building on the outskirts of the capital, Dhaka.
They were initially expected to face charges of culpable homicide, but Bangladeshi police upgraded the charges to murder due to the magnitude of the disaster. Another 2,500 people were rescued from the building, many with severe injuries, in the country's worst industrial disaster.
Authorities say factory officials ignored warnings against letting workers enter the building a day after cracks appeared in the structure. They also charged several government officials whose jobs were to oversee building safety.
Rana, who was arrested days after the collapse while trying to flee to India, remains in police custody while two dozen defendants are fugitives, police said. If convicted, they could face the death penalty.
Eighteen of the accused were also charged with violating building codes by adding extra floors to what was originally a five-story complex.
The disaster put a spotlight on Bangladesh's $20-billion textile export industry, which has grown into the world's second-largest after China due to extremely cheap labor costs. Bangladesh has become a major supplier of clothing to U.S. and European apparel companies.
In the past two years, the industry has undergone reforms, including new inspections and higher wages for its approximately 4 million workers, most of whom are women.
Special correspondent Kader reported from Dhaka and Times staff writer Bengali from Mumbai, India.
UPDATES
7:50 a.m.: This story has been updated throughout with additional reporting.
The story was originally published at 7:14 a.m.
