Around 150 people were in the uncompleted cement factory in Mongla when the roof collapsed

This article is more than 5 years old

This article is more than 5 years old

At least four people have been killed and more than 100 are feared trapped after the roof of a cement factory under construction in Bangladesh collapsed.

Rescuers pulled about 40 survivors from the debris of the factory, run by a subsidiary of the Bangladesh army, in the port town of Mongla, 335km (210 miles) south-west of the capital, Dhaka.

“There were about 150 people, including workers, inside the factory building when it collapsed,” said Belayet Hossain, the officer in charge of the Mongla Port police station near the factory.

Soldiers and sailors were helping firefighters to search for survivors, another official said.

“There are more bodies inside the debris. We’re trying to recover the living people first,” said district administration official Mohammad Abdus Samad.

Rana Plaza: one year on from the Bangladesh factory disaster Read more

Bangladesh has a poor record for building safety. A complex of shops and small factories collapsed in 2013 killing more than 1,130 people, most of them garment workers.

The collapse of Rana Plaza, built on swampy ground outside the capital, Dhaka, ranked among the world’s worst industrial accidents and sparked a global outcry for improved safety in the world’s second-largest exporter of ready-made garments.