BANGLADESH DEATH TOLL GOES ABOVE 500

The death toll from the catastrophic building collapse in Bangladesh last week, the country's deadliest industrial disaster, has surpassed 500, authorities said Friday.

Recovery workers retrieved dozens more decomposed bodies from the building's ruins, bringing the total number of dead to 501, said Jitendra Kumar Nath, a senior official with the district administration of Dhaka, the national capital.

Authorities say more than 2,400 people have been rescued alive from the wreckage since the building caved in nine days ago in Savar, a suburb of Dhaka.

The number of bodies removed from the huge heap of rubble has risen in recent days after workers began using heavy machinery to shift aside the slabs of

concrete. It's unclear how many bodies are still buried in the ruins.

Hundreds of people remained near the site of the collapse Friday, waiting for news of missing relatives.

The collapse of the nine-story building that contained five garment factories and thousands of workers provoked days of widespread protests in Bangladesh, including attacks on some textile facilities. The demonstrators expressed anger over the unsafe conditions in which many of them are forced to work.

But after the protests calmed down in recent days, the trade group that represents the garment industry decided Thursday that it was safe for millions of textile workers in and around Dhaka to return to duty.

Bangladesh's $20 billion garment industry accounts for 77% of the country's exports.

Among those caught up in the finger pointing after the disaster are Western retailers and clothing brands that Bangladeshi suppliers say put heavy pressure on prices, resulting in bad pay and conditions for workers.