Last April, one of the worst industrial accidents in history occured in Bangladesh when 1,134 workers were killed, and a further 2,400 seriously injured when a factory collapsed on them while they were making clothes for Western companies the likes of Primark and Bonmarche. Tonight, BBC Two airs the survivor's stories in documentary 'Clothes To Die For'.
One of the most harrowing (and stupendously inspiring) of tales comes courtesy of 26-year-old Rojina Begum whose survival instincts kicked in to the nth degree when she sawed off her own arm (without anaesthetic!) in a bid to escape.
Rojina, who was a sewing machinist at Rana Plaza factory, told the Sunday People how she had spent three days trapped under a mountain of rubble, surrounded by over 1,000 decomposing bodies before finally a doctor found her, but, as he couldn't reach to carry out the procedure himself, was forced to amputate her own arm with a saw.
Reportedly, the workers shouldn't have been allowed in to work that day, as staff had previously been evacuated for cracks that had appeared in the ceiling and supporting pillars. But they had, with owner Mohammed Sohel Rana allegedly insisting the workers return, and threatening to dock their wages if they refused.
"I fed my daughter, then sent her to school. After I went inside the factory I saw the rumour was true," Rojina told the Sunday People. “There was a crack in the pillar and the rods had come out. There were cracks in the ceiling. It could collapse any time... I told my sister, ‘We made a mistake coming, let’s leave,’ [then] at 8.45am the lights suddenly went out." It then took less than 90 seconds for the building to collapse.
Primark has since donated £5 million to the survivors and families of the dead who were making its clothes, they're also giving £1.7 million to other workers in the building. Other companies, including Matalan and Bonmarche, are making smaller donations.
Clothes To Die For airs tonight at 9pm on BBC Two.
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Picture: Corbis
This article originally appeared on The Debrief.