Rana Plaza collapsed — 1,134 dead because brands valued speed over safety

On April 24, 2013, Rana Plaza, a nine-story commercial building in Savar, Bangladesh, collapsed without warning at 8:57 am. The building housed five garment factories producing clothing for at least 29 international brands including Primark, Benetton, Zara, and Walmart. The death toll reached 1,134 with approximately 2,500 injured — the deadliest garment-factory disaster in history and the deadliest structural failure of the modern era.

The building was a disaster waiting to happen. Originally built with fewer floors on a filled-in pond, four upper stories were added illegally without permits or supporting walls. Heavy sewing machines and diesel generators exceeded the structure's capacity. The day before the collapse, large cracks appeared; a bank and shops on lower floors closed immediately. Sohel Rana, the building owner, declared it safe and ordered workers back. Factory managers threatened to withhold a month's pay from anyone who refused.

At least 29 international brands sourced from the factories, but only nine contributed to the compensation fund. Primark paid the largest share at $12.4 million. The disaster led to the Accord on Fire and Building Safety in Bangladesh, a legally binding agreement between brands and unions that inspected over 1,600 factories. Walmart and 14 other North American companies refused to sign and created a non-binding alternative. The murder trial against Sohel Rana and 41 others was still ongoing as of 2021.