Police investigating collapse of Bangladesh factory - 500 dead

Police have arrested ninth man in connection with the April 24 building collapse that killed 500 people. The disaster had put the spotlight on the many Western clothing retailers who use Bangladesh as a source of cheap goods.

One firm whose garments were being made in the doomed building, Canada's Loblaw, said on Thursday it would continue to produce clothes in Bangladesh but promised to improve the facilities it uses there.

The death toll from Bangladesh's worst industrial accident rose to 501 on Friday, with the scores of relatives still gathered at the site in a Dhaka suburb clutching photographs of loved ones attesting to the many more still missing.

Engineer Razzak had been called to Rana Plaza in Savar by its owner when cracks appeared in concrete pillars the day before the accident.

Despite his warning that the building was unsafe thousands of mostly female workers were sent back into its upper storey factories when the morning shift began the next day.

Police said Razzak had been arrested because he had been involved in the original construction of the building.

Duty-free access offered by Western countries and low wages have helped turn Bangladesh's garment exports into a $19 billion a year industry, with 60 percent of clothes going to Europe.

The European Union has said it is considering trade action against Bangladesh, which has preferential access to EU markets for its garments, to pressure Dhaka to improve safety standards.

About 3.6 million people work in Bangladesh's garment industry, making it the world's second-largest apparel exporter after China. Some earn as little as $38 a month, conditions Pope Francis on Wednesday likened to "slave labour".