Bangladesh factory collapse death toll passes 900 as survivors receive compensation

The Bangladesh factory collapse death toll continued to climb on Thursday, as the army confirmed 912 people dead. The Associated Press reported that the official count had grown to 930 dead.

The collapse of the Rana Plaza building on April 24 was the country's largest industrial disaster to date, and the building's owner and several others have been arrested in connection to the accident. 

The search for bodies in the massive pile of rubble has continued ever since. Army spokesperson Captain Shahid Ahsan Bhuiyan said on Tuesday that over 2,400 people having been rescued alive so far. 

Also on Thursday, a fire at another garment factory in Bangladesh claimed at least eight lives. The AP said that the individuals died of suffocation as they attempted to flee the 11-story building.

A total of 580 bodies of the dead from last month's collapse had been released to relatives as of Wednesday, with the rest of the remains still requiring identification and an undetermined number of bodies still in the rubble. 

Rescue officials are still searching the rubble for survivors with heavy machinery, CNN reported, adding that two rescue workers were killed during the search. 

It is unclear how many people were in the building at the time of the collapse, which happened during the busy morning shift, but the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association reported that 3,122 workers were employed at the five factories housed in the building. 

There were also several stores and a bank in the complex. 

Meanwhile, authorities have begun to distribute benefits and salaries to the survivors of the collapse after protests on Tuesday, CBS News reported.