DHAKA, Bangladesh -- The death toll from a building collapse in Bangladesh has risen to 160 and could climb higher, police said on Thursday, with people trapped under the rubble of a complex that housed garment factories supplying retailers in Europe and North America. 

The collapse, the third catastrophic incident at Bangladeshi factories in five months that have killed more than 200 people, could taint Bangladesh's reputation as a source of low-cost products and services and call attention to Western retailers and other companies that obtain products from the country. 

Frantic rescue workers were digging through the rubble of the eight-storey Rana Plaza building in Savar, 30 km (20 miles) outside the Bangladeshi capital Dhaka, which collapsed on Wednesday. More than 1,000 people were injured. 

"The death toll could go up as many are still trapped under the rubble," Dhaka's district police chief, Habibur Rahman, told Reuters on Thursday. 

Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) president Mohammad Atiqul Islam said there were 3,122 workers in the factories on Wednesday. He said there had been indications from Savar officials that cracks had been found in the building the day before. 

"We asked the garment owners to keep it closed," Islam said. 

Rana Plaza's owner had told proprietors of the building's five garment factories that the cracks were not dangerous, Islam added. "After getting the green signal from the plaza owner all the garment factories opened," he said. 

However, police official Mohammad Asaduzzaman said factory owners appeared to have ignored a warning not to allow their workers into the building after a crack was detected on Tuesday. 

News reports beamed around the world showed young women workers, some apparently semi-conscious, being pulled out of the rubble by firefighters and troops. Doctors at Dhaka hospitals said they couldn't cope with the number of victims. 

"I was at work on the third floor, and then suddenly I heard a deafening sound, but couldn't understand what was happening. I ran and was hit by something on my head," said factory worker Zohra Begum. 

Images: Desperate search for survivors

The Rana Plaza building collapse follows a November fire at the Tazreen Fashion factory on the outskirts of Dhaka that killed 112 people, and it has compounded concerns about worker safety and low wages in Bangladesh. 

Soon after the collapse, Canada's Loblaw came forward to confirm a connection with the building. It said one factory made a small number of "Joe Fresh" apparel items for the company. 

"We are extremely saddened to learn of the collapse of a building complex in Bangladesh and our condolences go out to those affected by this tragedy," Julija Hunter, public relations vice-president for Loblaw Companies, said in an email. 

"We will be working with our vendor to understand how we may be able to assist them during this time," Hunter said. 

Loblaw Companies Ltd makes Joe Fresh clothing as well as President's Choice supermarket packaged food. Its parent is food processing and distribution firm George Weston Ltd, according to Reuters data. 

Loblaw said it set vendor standards to ensure that products are made "in a socially responsible way" and conducts regular audits. Those standards include prohibiting child harassment and abuse or forced labor, and ensuring fair pay and benefits. 

Bangladesh employs about 3.6 million people in the garment industry and is the world's second-largest apparel exporter. 

Munir Uz Zaman / AFP - Getty Images

A volunteer carries an injured girl after an eight-story building collapsed near Dhaka, Bangladesh, on Wednesday.

Following the Tazreen fire, giant U.S. retailer Wal-Mart Stores Inc. said it would take steps to alleviate safety concerns, while Gap Inc. announced a four-step fire-safety program. 

"Still we are struggling to overcome the odds after the Tazreen fire, now another incident which is a strong blow for the sector," BGMEA's Islam said. 

However, Edward Hertzman, a sourcing agent based in New York who also publishes trade magazine Sourcing Journal, said pressure from U.S. retailers to keep a lid on costs continues to foster unsafe conditions. 

Hertzman, whose trade publication has offices in Bangladesh, said New Wave Bottoms Ltd occupied the second floor, Phantom Apparels Ltd the third, Phantom Tack Ltd the fourth and Ethar Textile Ltd the fifth. 

The New Wave website listed 27 main buyers, including firms from Britain, Denmark, France, Germany, Spain, Ireland, Canada and the United States. 

This story was originally published on Wed Apr 24, 2013 4:36 AM EDT

Andrew Biraj / Reuters

Sabita Rani, 35, sits in her kitchen in Savar, Bangladesh, Nov. 30, 2012. Rani, an operator at the Tazreen Fashions garment factory, escaped the fire that killed more than 100 workers on Nov. 24. According to Rani, the factory manager did not let workers escape after hearing the fire bell, but Rani jumped from the third floor to save herself after her colleagues managed to break a window.

Andrew Biraj / Reuters

Tahera Begum, 25, lies inside her room in Savar, Bangladesh, Nov. 30. Begum is an operator at the Tazreen Fashions garment factory. Begum became mentally ill and lost her memory after escaping a factory fire on Nov. 24, according to Begum's husband.

The Daily Star has written about Begum here

Related PhotoBlog posts:

• Protests and burials in Bangladesh for garment factory workers
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• More than 100 killed in Bangladesh factory fire

Andrew Biraj / Reuters

Harun-or-Rashid, 24, sits with his wife Reshma, left, 20, inside their room in Savar, Bangladesh, Nov. 30. Harun and Reshma escaped the Tazreen Fashions garment factory fire that killed more than 100 workers on Nov. 24. According to Reshma, the factory's workers rarely performed fire drills. Reshma broke her right leg after jumping from the third floor to escape the fire. Harun said they will leave their job and return to their hometown in Munshiganj.

Andrew Biraj / Reuters

Ale Noor, 35, sits inside her room in Savar, Bangladesh, Nov. 30. Noor is an operator at the Tazreen Fashions garment factory. According to Noor, she broke her left leg after jumping from the fourth floor to escape a factory fire on Nov. 24. Noor earns 3,000 Taka, about $37, per month, but says the factory's workers have had to protest to receive pay each month as the factory's management never paid salaries on time.

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DHAKA, Bangladesh -- Thousands of Bangladeshi workers blocked the streets of a Dhaka suburb Monday, throwing stones at factories and smashing vehicles, as they demanded justice for at least 112 people killed in a garment-factory fire that highlighted unsafe conditions in an industry rushing to produce for major retailers around the world.

Another fire broke out in a multi-story garment factory in a Dhaka suburb on Monday, but a fire department official said the blaze was under control and there were no immediate reports that anyone had died in the latest blaze.

Some 200 factories were closed for the day after the protest erupted in Savar, the industrial zone where Saturday's deadly fire occurred. Protesters blocked a major highway.

Andrew Biraj / Reuters

Workers shout slogans Monday as they protest against the death of their colleagues after a weekend fire in a garment factory in Savar, Bangladesh, killed more than 100 people.

The government announced that Tuesday will be a day of national mourning, with the national flag flying at half-mast in honor of the dead.

Fire official: No emergency exit
Investigators suspect that a short circuit caused the fire, said Maj. Mohammad Mahbub, fire department operations director. But he said it was not the fire itself but the lack of safety measures in the eight-story building that made it so deadly.

Fire sweeps clothing factory in Bangladesh -- more than 100 killed

"Had there been at least one emergency exit through outside the factory, the casualties would have been much lower," Mahbub said.

He said firefighters recovered at least 100 bodies from the factory, and 12 more people died at hospitals after jumping from the building to escape the fire.

Local media reported that up to 124 people were killed.

"I haven't been able to find my mother," one worker, who gave her name as Shahida, told Reuters. "I demand justice. I demand that the owner be arrested."

Mohammad Ripu, a survivor, said Monday that he tried to run out of the building when the fire alarm rang but was stopped.

"Managers told us, 'Nothing happened. The fire alarm had just gone out of order. Go back to work,'" Ripu said. "But we quickly understood that there was a fire. As we again ran for the exit point we found it locked from outside, and it was too late."

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Ripu said he jumped from a second-floor window and suffered minor injuries.

Mahbub said the fire broke out on the ground floor, which was used as a warehouse, and spread quickly to the upper floors. He said many workers who retreated to the roof were rescued, but dozens of others were trapped; firefighters recovered 69 bodies from the second floor alone.

Many victims were burned beyond recognition. The bodies were laid out in rows at a school nearby. Many of them were handed over to families; unclaimed victims were taken to Dhaka Medical College for identification.

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Hazardous conditions are widespread
The garment-factory fire was Bangladesh's deadliest in recent memory, but such dangers have long been a fact of life as the industry has mushroomed to meet demand from major retailers around the world.

At least 500 people have died in clothing factory accidents in Bangladesh since 2006, according to fire department officials.

The Savar factory is owned by Tazreen Fashions Ltd., a subsidiary of the Tuba Group. Neither Tazreen nor Tuba Group officials could be reached for comment.

The Tuba Group is a major Bangladeshi garment exporter whose clients include Wal-Mart, Carrefour and IKEA, according to its website.

Andrew Biraj / Reuters

A firefighter inspects a garment factory in Savar, Bangladesh, on Sunday after a fire caused more than 100 deaths there a day earlier.

Bangladesh has some 4,000 garment factories, many without proper safety measures. The country annually earns about $20 billion from exports of garment products, mainly to the United States and Europe.

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The Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association said it would stand by the victims' families and offered $1,250 to each of the families of the dead. The association's acting president, Siddiqur Rahman, said on a talk show late Sunday that Tazreen's owner was to meet with group representatives on Monday.

"We will discuss what other things we can do for the families of the dead," Rahman said on Rtv, a private television station. "We are worried about what has happened. We hope to discuss everything in detail in that meeting."

The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.

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