Dhaka:
Bangladeshi textile bosses pleaded Monday with Western clothing giants to keep doing business with them after nearly 400 people died in a factory collapse as hopes of finding more survivors faded.
Organisers of the mammoth rescue effort ordered in cranes on Monday to clear the ruins of what was once an eight-storey factory compound before it caved in five days ago while some 3,000 textile workers were on shift.
As Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina paid her first visit to the tangle of concrete, the confirmed number of dead stood at 382.
But the toll is expected to shoot up now heavy lifting equipment is being used. Rescuers had earlier been wary of using anything but hand-held drills, over fears that machinery could force more masonry to collapse onto survivors.
Emergency workers, who have been battling the stench of rotting corpses, were shattered by the death late Sunday of a female garment worker who had clung to life against the odds before being overwhelmed by a fire at the scene.
The tragedy has once again focused attention on the poor safety conditions in the $20 billion Bangladeshi garment industry, which is the world's second biggest after China.
Britain's Primark and Spain's Mango have confirmed their products were made in the block. Italy's Benetton acknowledged having its clothes made in Rana Plaza recently, but claimed it was a "one-time order".
Worried that Western firms could look elsewhere, manufacturers met representatives of at least 30 leading brand names such as Walmart, H&M and Gap on Monday in a bid to assure them about safety standards.
The meeting ended with an announcement that the manufacturers and buyers had agreed to form a joint panel to come up with a firm safety action plan.
Shahidullah Azim, of the Bangladesh Garments Manufacturers and Exporters Association, said the brands were told "that we're taking action to prevent a repeat of such tragedies" and urged them "not to cancel orders and shipments".
"We need their help -- they are part of us," said Azim, whose organisation represents more than 4,500 factories.
Roger Hubert, the country vice-president of Hong Hong-based Li and Fung, acknowledged retailers were considering their futures in Bangladesh.
"Today, I believe, in most countries... the buyers are sitting together to consider whether or not they can still buy from Bangladesh. I think that is a fact. It might sound very harsh, but that's the reality," he told AFP.
Jenefa Jabbar, the regional social responsibilities director of the US clothing chain JC Penney said retailers wanted to see "a top-down approach... to address the fire safety and building safety issues."
A fire at another factory last November in the industrial hub of Ashulia, where clothing for the likes of Walmart was being made, killed 111 people.
The industry accounts for 80 percent of the country's exports and more than 40 percent of the country's industrial workforce.
A typical textile worker earns less than 40 dollars a month, with most working around 10 hours a day, six days a week.
It is not known how many people are trapped in the rubble of the collapsed building. There are still hundreds of relatives at the scene, many clutching photos of their loved ones, but officials held out little hope.
The death of the female garment worker identified as Shannaz, whose courageous struggle became a symbol of hope, cast a deep pall over the rescue effort.
Firefighters were seen weeping after the widowed mother-of-one lost her battle for life when the fire broke out.
One of the leaders of the rescue operation said Monday the emergency services would be "doing things very carefully" in case anyone else had somehow managed to stay alive but they were "assuming that there is no survivor".
Seventeen-year-old Mohammad Badhon, whose mother is a sewing operator and among those still missing, has been waiting at the scene for any news. "I am still hopeful my mother will be rescued alive," he said, holding her photo.
Seven people have so far been arrested over the disaster, including the overall owner of the complex, property tycoon Sohel Rana, who was detained as he attempted to cross into India and was flown back to Dhaka.
Among the others also facing charges of causing "death by negligence" are two engineers who are alleged to have given the building the all-clear on Tuesday night after large cracks were found in the walls.