People and rescuers gather after an eight-story building housing several garment factories collapsed in Savar, near Dhaka, Bangladesh, April 24, 2013.
The death toll from the collapsed building in Bangladesh that housed several garment factories has risen to 147.
Rescue officials say emergency personnel continue to dig through the rubble at the Rana Plaza shopping center in the Dhaka suburb of Savar, to find people who remain trapped in the debris.
One firefighter told Reuters there were about 2,000 people on the upper floors of the building at the time of its collapse. Survivors say the collapse happened within minutes.
Savar, Bangladesh
Police officials say the factory owners appeared to have ignored a warning not to allow their workers into the building after inspectors discovered cracks in it on Tuesday.
Buildings in and around Dhaka often do not comply with construction regulations. Dozens of people died when a garment factory collapsed in the same area eight years ago.
In November, a fire at a garment factory killed more than 100 workers, raising an outcry about safety in the nation's garment industry.
Bangladesh has the second-largest garment industry in the world, providing cheap clothes for major Western brands and retailers, which benefit from the South Asian nation's abundant low-cost labor.
Bangladesh to End Search for Building Collapse Victims
1/13A man walks at the site where a garment factory building collapsed on April 24 in Savar, near Dhaka, Bangladesh, May 13, 2013.
Authorities in Bangladesh say they are preparing to end the search for victims of a building collapse that killed more than 1,100 people last month.
2/13Reshma Begum, center, the 19-year-old seamstress who spent 17 days trapped in the rubble of a collapsed factory building talks to the media at a hospital in Savar, near Dhaka, Bangladesh, May 13, 2013.
Authorities in Bangladesh say they are preparing to end the search for victims of a building collapse that killed more than 1,100 people last month.
3/13Rescuers carry a survivor pulled out from the rubble of a building that collapsed in Saver, near Dhaka, Bangladesh, May 10, 2013.
Authorities in Bangladesh say they are preparing to end the search for victims of a building collapse that killed more than 1,100 people last month.
4/13People work in the rubble of a collapsed garment factory in Savar near Dhaka, Bangladesh, May 10, 2013.
Authorities in Bangladesh say they are preparing to end the search for victims of a building collapse that killed more than 1,100 people last month.
5/13Rescuers carry the body of a victim from the rubble of a building that collapsed in Savar, Bangladesh, May 7, 2013.
Authorities in Bangladesh say they are preparing to end the search for victims of a building collapse that killed more than 1,100 people last month.
6/13A woman cries after she identified her relative's body that was recovered from the rubble of a collapsed garment factory building, Savar, Bangladesh, May 3, 2013.
Authorities in Bangladesh say they are preparing to end the search for victims of a building collapse that killed more than 1,100 people last month.
7/13The remaining standing part of the collapsed Rana Plaza building collapses during a rescue operation by the army in Savar, Bangladesh, May 2, 2013.
Authorities in Bangladesh say they are preparing to end the search for victims of a building collapse that killed more than 1,100 people last month.
8/13Relatives mourn as they look for garment workers, missing after the collapse of the Rana Plaza building in Savar, Bangladesh, May 2, 2013.
Authorities in Bangladesh say they are preparing to end the search for victims of a building collapse that killed more than 1,100 people last month.
9/13Workers dig mass graves during a burial of unidentified garment workers, who died in the collapse of the Rana Plaza building in Savar, Bangladesh, May 1, 2013.
Authorities in Bangladesh say they are preparing to end the search for victims of a building collapse that killed more than 1,100 people last month.
10/13A boy covers his nose with a cloth as people gather in front of mass graves during the burial of unidentified garment workers, who died in the collapse of the Rana Plaza building in Savar, Bangladesh, May 1, 2013.
Authorities in Bangladesh say they are preparing to end the search for victims of a building collapse that killed more than 1,100 people last month.
11/13A woman waits for news of her relative, a garment worker, who is missing after the collapse of Rana Plaza building, in front of missing people posters in Savar, Bangladesh, April 30, 2013.
Authorities in Bangladesh say they are preparing to end the search for victims of a building collapse that killed more than 1,100 people last month.
12/13Firefighters and army personnel are blanketed in thick dust after part of the garment factory building collapses after being dislodged as part of the clearing process in Savar, near Dhaka, April 29, 2013.
Authorities in Bangladesh say they are preparing to end the search for victims of a building collapse that killed more than 1,100 people last month.
13/13Crowds gather at the collapsed Rana Plaza building as people rescue garment workers trapped in the rubble, Savar, Bangladesh, April 24, 2013.
Authorities in Bangladesh say they are preparing to end the search for victims of a building collapse that killed more than 1,100 people last month.
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