A.M. Ahad / AP

Bangladesh army soldiers stand at the wreckage of the Rana Plaza garment factory to offer prayers for the souls of the 1,127 people who died in the collapse last month, in Savar, Bangladesh, on May 14, 2013.

A.M. Ahad / AP

A Bangladeshi woman cries holding the portrait of a missing relative as they gather to offer prayers for the people who died in the garment building structure collapse last month, in Savar, near Bangladesh, on May 14, 2013.

Thousands of mourners gathered Tuesday at the wreckage of a Bangladeshi garment factory building to offer prayers for the souls of the 1,127 people who died in the structure's collapse last month, the worst tragedy in the history of the global garment industry.

The Islamic prayer service was held a day after the army ended a nearly three-week, painstaking search for bodies among the rubble and turned control of the site over to the civilian government for cleanup.

A.M. Ahad / AP

Tears roll down the cheeks of a Bangladesh army soldier in Savar, near Bangladesh, on May 14, 2013.

A.M. Ahad / AP

Bangladeshis display portraits of their missing relatives during a prayer ceremony, in Savar, near Bangladesh, on May 14, 2013.

A.M. Ahad / AP

A family member of a victim cries during a memorial for victims of the Rana Plaza building collapse last month, in Savar, near Bangladesh, on May 14, 2013.

Recovery workers got a shocking boost Friday when they pulled a 19-year-old seamstress alive from the wreckage. But most of their work entailed removing corpses that were so badly decomposed from the heat they could only be identified if their cellphones or work IDs were found with them. The last body was found Sunday night.

Soldiers in camouflage, police and firefighters in uniform stood solemnly in neat rows near relatives of the dead. Many of the rescue workers had pained expressions on their faces. Tears rolled down the cheeks of one soldier.

Continue reading.

Related:

• PhotoBlog: Ever-present danger for Bangladeshi workers
• 'Hundreds of buildings like this': Bangladesh factories geared to produce tragedy
• H&M approves safety standards for Bangladesh factories

Abir Abdullah / EPA

An army soldier takes part in a prayer service in front of the damaged site after the end of the rescue work after 20 days following the Rana Plaza building collapse in Savar, Dhaka, Bangladesh, on May 14, 2013.

See more photos from building collapse in Bangladesh on PhotoBlog

EPA

Rescuers pull out a female survivor, Reshma, alive 16 days after the Rana Plaza building collapsed, in Savar, Dhaka, Bangladesh, on May 10, 2013. The death toll from last month's collapse of a garment factory complex in Bangladesh rose past 1,000 as piles of bodies were found in the ruins of a stairwell where victims had sought shelter.

A survivor was pulled alive from the ruins of an eight-story factory in Bangladesh on Friday, 16 days after it collapsed, killing more than 1,000 people.

The woman was found trapped in the remains of the building and given water and food as rescuers tried to reach her. Rescuers stopped using heavy machinery on the site during the delicate operation, according to Bangladesh’s Daily Star newspaper.

Continue reading.

PhotoBlog: Ever-present danger looms for Bangladeshi workers

See more photos from building collapse in Bangladesh on PhotoBlog

Reuters

Workers rescue a woman from the rubble of the collapsed Rana Plaza building, in Savar, on May 10, 2013.

Abir Abdullah / EPA

Bangladeshi firemen battle a blaze that broke out at the Kung Keng Textile resort the outskirts of Dhaka on Aug. 26, 2005. The fire was caused by a short-circuit.

Abir Abdullah / EPA

Burned sewing machines sit on the first floor of the Garib & Garib sweater factory after a fire in Gazipur, Bangladesh, on Feb. 26, 2010. Twenty-one garment workers were killed and about 50 injured in the fire. The factory produced sweaters for H&M, among other companies.

Abir Abdullah / EPA

Women cover their noses to avoid the smell of burned bodies as they gather near where bodies are being kept for identification following a devastating fire at the Tazreen Fashions Ltd. garment factory in Savar, outside Dhaka, Bangladesh, on Nov. 25, 2012. The fire killed 112 people, and a government inquiry accused the factory owner of "unpardonable negligence."

In April 2005, at least 64 workers were killed when the Spectrum Garments building collapsed in Bangladesh.

It was the first time photographer Abir Abdullah had covered a building collapse, and the horrific scenes he witnessed over the next week would stay with him. He was left disturbed and unable to eat for several days “because of the smell and seeing the trapped, disfigured faces and bodies of the workers,” Abdullah told NBC News. The scenes moved him to continue to document Bangladesh’s garment industry.

As he would find out, there would be many more agonizing disasters over the next several years.

Abir Abdullah / EPA

Bangladeshi firefighters and rescue workers at the scene of a six-story building collapse on Feb. 25, 2006. The building housed a garment factory, shops and offices in Dhaka's Tejgaon industrial area. At least 18 people were killed and more than 50 seriously injured.

Abir Abdullah / EPA

An injured Bangladeshi worker is carried on a stretcher during a fire at the Ha-Meem Group factory that makes clothes for the Gap, in Savar, Bangladesh, on Dec. 14, 2010. At least 27 people died when a fire broke out on the 9th and 10th floors of the building.

Abir Abdullah / EPA

Relatives mourn beside bodies in front of a hospital gate following a fire at SMART factory in Dhaka, Bangladesh, on Jan. 26, 2013. At least seven garment workers died and many more were injured in a stampede after a fire broke out in the factory.

Abdullah’s photographs of Bangladesh’s garment industry become especially poignant as the death toll in the recent collapse of the eight-story Rana Plaza now tops 1000, making it the deadliest disaster in the history of the industry. Efforts to keep the cost of production down have contributed to a dangerous work environment, where factory fires and building collapses are commonplace. “Corrupt officials who ignore building codes and greedy businessmen who bypass fire protection” exacerbate the problem, according to Abdullah.

Bangladesh’s garment industry now brings in about $20 billion a year and accounts for 80 percent of the country’s exports. There is tremendous pressure on the Bangladeshi manufacturers to keep labor and production costs low in order to attract global retailers.

Abir Abdullah / EPA

Burned garments are seen after the fire at the SMART garment factory in Dhaka, Bangladesh, on Jan. 26, 2013.

Abir Abdullah / EPA

Civilans try to put out a fire at the Sir Denim Ltd. building in Dhaka, Bangladesh, on Nov. 26, 2012. There were no casualties, the fire service reported.

Abir Abdullah / EPA

Rescue workers carry bodies following a devastating fire in the Tazreen Fashions Limited garment factory at Nischintapur, Savar, outside Dhaka, Bangladesh, on Nov. 25, 2012. The factory produced clothing for two Wal-Mart suppliers, as well as one for Sears.

Workers play a pivotal role in the equation, allowing Bangladesh to maintain cheap labor costs. The garment industry employs more than 3 million people. Labor protests demanding safer working conditions and higher salaries sometimes result in a factory temporarily closing, but there are few long-term changes. With few other job opportunities, Bangladeshis return to work at the factories in order to provide a living for their families.

“Though it is exhausting and traumatic to cover building disasters, I think the exploitation of the garment workers need to be documented,” writes Abdullah. He hopes that by drawing attention to the injustices in the system, western buyers and consumers will understand the true cost of their clothing and be moved to effect change. In February, he received an Alexia Foundation grant to continue photographing the deadly cost of cheap clothing. Abdullah says he believes in the power of photography as a “weapon to express your statements against injustice” and dedicates his work to changing the industry.

Abir Abdullah / EPA

The damaged interiors of a garment factory after a clash between the protesting workers and police at Ashulia, Savar, Bangladesh, on June 22, 2010.

Abir Abdullah / EPA

Angry workers and locals protest the deaths of garment workers and demand punishment of the building owner Sohel Rana, in Savar, Dhaka, Bangladesh, on April 30, 2013, after the collapse of Rana Plaza.

Abir Abdullah / EPA

The scene on April 25, 2013, the day after eight-story Rana Plaza building collapsed in Savar, outside Dhaka, Bangladesh, killing more than 900 people.

This story was originally published on Thu May 9, 2013 9:48 AM EDT

Photos by Ismail Ferdous / AP

Workers and army personnel work to clear the site and recover bodies from the rubble of a garment factory collapse May 6, 2013, in Savar, near Dhaka, Bangladesh. The death toll from the collapse of the shoddily built building on April 24 continued its horrifying climb, reaching at least 630 on Monday with little sign of what the final toll will be.

A sick girl remains at the site, waiting for news of her missing father, as workers and army personnel clear the site and recover bodies on Monday.

Reuters reported on Saturday:

Bangladesh on Saturday urged the European Union not to take tough measures against its economically crucial textile industry in response to the collapse of a garment factory that killed more than 600 people.

Bodies were still being pulled from the ruins on Saturday as tearful families stood by waiting for news of victims of the country's worst industrial accident.

Related PhotoBlog posts

• Protesters demand justice for victims of building collapse in Bangladesh
• Trapped garment worker rescued from rubble of collapsed factory building after three days
• Search for survivors continues in Bangladeshi building collapse
• Desperate attempts to rescue garment workers after building collapses in Bangladesh

Reuters

A man argues with a member of the police April 29 as he holds a picture of a missing garment worker during a protest demanding capital punishment for those responsible for the collapse of the Rana Plaza building in Savar, outside Dhaka, Bangladesh.

Andrew Biraj / Reuters

Garment workers try to break the gate of a factory April 29 during a protest to demand capital punishment for those responsible for the collapse of the Rana Plaza building in Savar, outside Dhaka, Bangladesh.

By Chris Blake and Farid Hossain, The Associated Press

SAVAR, Bangladesh -- Rescue workers in Bangladesh gave up hopes of finding any more survivors in the remains of a building that collapsed five days ago, and began using heavy machinery on Monday to dislodge the rubble and look for bodies.

At least 380 people were killed when the illegally constructed, eight-story Rana Plaza collapsed in a heap on Wednesday morning along with thousands of workers in the five garment factories in the building. About 2,500 survivors have been accounted for. The building owner, Mohammed Sohel Rana, was arrested Sunday in the western border town of Benapole while he was trying to flee to India. Read full story

Wong Maye-e / AP

A body is carried out from the collapsed garment factory building April 28 in Savar, near Dhaka, Bangladesh.

• See more PhotoBlog stories on the building collapse in Bangladesh

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Reuters

Rescue workers pull a garment worker from the rubble of the collapsed Rana Plaza building, in Savar, 19 miles outside Dhaka, on April 27, 2013.

Reuters reports:

DHAKA, Bangladesh -- Two factory bosses and two engineers were arrested in Bangladesh on Saturday, three days after the collapse of a building where low-cost garments were made for Western brands, as the death toll rose to 341 but many were still being found alive. As many as 900 people could still be missing, police said.

The owner of the eight-story building that fell around more than 3,000 workers is still on the run. Police said several of his relatives have been detained to compel him to hand himself in, and an alert had gone out to airport and border authorities to prevent him from fleeing the country.

Related PhotoBlog post: Search for Survivors continues in Bangladeshi building collapse

Andrew Biraj / Reuters

Rescue workers attempt to rescue the garment workers from the rubble of the collapsed Rana Plaza building on Saturday

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GRAPHIC WARNING: Contains images which some viewers may find disturbing. 

Munir Uz Zaman / AFP - Getty Images

Volunteers and rescue workers search for survivorst at the scene of eight-story building collapse in Savar, on the outskirts of Dhaka, Bangladesh, on April 25.

Munir Uz Zaman / AFP - Getty Images

A woman reacts after identifying the body of her husband, killed in the collapse of an eight-story building in Savar, Bangladesh, on April 25.

By John Chalmers, Reuters

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. Read full story

Munir Uz Zaman / AFP - Getty Images

Volunteers and rescue workers look for survivors at the scene of the collapse in Savar, Bangladesh, on April 25.

A.M. Ahad / AP

A rescuer looking for survivors emerges from beneath a concrete slab in Savar, Bangladesh, on April 25.

Andrew Biraj / Reuters

A rescue worker comforts a survivor who was trapped inside the rubble of the collapsed building in Savar, Bangladesh, on April 25.

A.M. Ahad / AP

A victim's body lies amid rubble at the site of a building collapse in Savar, Bangladesh, on April 25.

Munir Uz Zaman / AFP - Getty Images

A young man reacts after seeing the body of a relative killed in the collapse in Savar, Bangladesh, on April 24.

Previously on PhotoBlog: Desperate attempts to rescue garment workers after building collapses in Bangladesh

Related stories on PhotoBlog:

• Chaotic scene as civilians work to put out another garment-factory fire in Bangladesh
• More than 100 killed in Bangladesh factory fire

Munir Uz Zaman / AFP - Getty Images

Bangladeshi garment workers help evacuate a survivor using rolls of fabric as a slide to evacuate people from the rubble after the building collapsed in Savar, Bangladesh on April 24.

A.M. Ahad / AP

People and rescuers gather after an eight-story building housing several garment factories collapsed in Savar, near Dhaka, Bangladesh, April 24

A.M. Ahad / AP

A man who was trapped in an collapsed eight-story building housing several garment factories is reccued in Savar, Bangladesh, April 24.

Abir Abdullah / EPA

Civilians rescue an injured garment worker during a rescue operation after the eight-story Rana Plaza building collapsed at Savar, Bangladesh, April 24.

Andrew Biraj / Reuters

People mourn for their relatives, who were working in the Rana Plaza building when it collapsed, in Savar, Bangladesh, April 24.

By John Chalmers, Reuters

DHAKA, Bangladesh -- An eight-story block housing factories and a shopping center collapsed on the outskirts of the Bangladeshi capital on Wednesday, killing almost 100 people and injuring hundreds, officials said.

Firefighters and army personnel worked frantically through the morning at the Rana Plaza building in Savar, 19 miles outside Dhaka, to rescue people trapped inside.

One firefighter told Reuters that about 2,000 people were in the building when the upper floors jolted down on top of each other. Continue reading.

A.M. Ahad / AP

A man center, reacts as Bangladeshi firefighters and volunteers work to douse a fire at the Kallyanpur Natun Bazar slum in Dhaka, Bangladesh, on Feb. 27.

A fire swept through a slum in Dhaka, Bangladesh, on Wednesday. According to police, at least 300 shanties were gutted. No casualties were reported.

--The Associated Press

A.M. Ahad / AP

Bangladeshi firefighters and volunteers search the debris of a congested slum after a fire swept through it in Dhaka, Bangladesh, on Feb. 27.

Abir Abdullah / EPA

Family members react after a fire broke out in a slum at Kallayanpur in Dhaka, Bangladesh, on Feb. 27. The cause of the fire is not yet known and no casualties have been reported.

A.M. Ahad / AP

Smoke rises from a slum after a fire swept through it in Dhaka, Bangladesh, on Feb. 27.

Previously on PhotoBlog:

• Survivors of Bangladesh factory fire tell their story
• Chaotic scene as civilians work to put out another garment-factory fire in Bangladesh
• More than 100 killed in Bangladesh factory fire

GRAPHIC WARNING: Contains images which some viewers may find disturbing. 

AFP - Getty Images

A man mourns the loss of a relative after a ferry accident in Munshiganj, Bangladesh, on Feb. 8, 2013.

Published at 10:14 a.m. ET: DHAKA, Bangladesh — At least two people died and dozens were rescued after a passenger ferry collided with another ship and capsized Friday on a river in central Bangladesh, dumping as many as 100 people into the water, officials and witnesses said.

Police said the ferry went down on the Meghna River in Munshiganj district, 20 miles south of the capital, Dhaka. By Friday evening, rescuers had recovered the bodies of a child and a woman.

There was confusion over the number of passengers on board the ferry at the time of the accident. Relatives and neighbors at the scene said some people were missing, but authorities would not provide an official list of those who were unaccounted for. Read the full story.

-- The Associated Press

A.M. Ahad / AP

Rescue workers carry the body of a victim ashore on the banks of the Meghna River at Munshiganj on Feb. 8, 2013.

Khurshed Rinku / Reuters

Rescue workers carry the body of a victim after a ferry sank in Munshiganj on Feb. 8, 2013.

ESA

False-color radar imagery shows the Ganges Delta in Bangladesh, as seen by the European Space Agency's Envisat satellite in 2009. Standard radar images do not detect color. In this case, readings from three different satellite passes were analyzed, and the different colors reflect the surface variations that occurred between those passes.

If you still have to send out your season's greetings, take your pick from a spectrum of holiday e-cards featuring spacey imagery from the European Space Agency.

The ESA selected pictures that have a festive look — such as this Envisat radar view of the world's largest delta, formed by the confluence of the Ganges, Brahmaputra and Meghna rivers in India and Bangladesh. This particular photo focuses on the Bangladeshi part of the delta.

Radar readings can show differences in surface height and reflectivity, but they can't show color directly. This picture combines radar data from three different satellite passes — on Jan. 20, Feb. 24 and March 31, 2009 — and uses the different colors of the rainbow to show the surface changes that occurred between passes. Envisat, the world's largest civilian Earth observation satellite, was launched in 2002 but went out of contact this year.

For a completely out-of-this-world radar view, check out the Cassini orbiter's picture of a hydrocarbon river delta on Titan, Saturn's largest moon.

Today's gander at the Ganges Delta is one of the last offerings from the Cosmic Log Space Advent Calendar, which has been serving up daily views of Earth from space this month. For more spacey goodies, follow the links below:

• 2012 Cosmic Log Space Advent Calendar
• Day 1: A fantastic Chinese fan
• Day 2: Satellite shows a Grander Canyon
• Day 3: Typhoon stirs awe — and alarm
• Day 4: Glittering nighttime view of Riyadh
• Day 5: Night lights shine on 'Black Marble'
• Day 6: Holy sites seen at night
• Day 7: Blue Marble still leaves its mark
• Day 8: Satellites look into a volcano's hell
• Day 9: Jack Frost nipping at Alaska's nose
• Day 10: Cosmonaut looks down on peaks
• Day 11: Earth looms above moonwalker
• Day 12: Skytree casts shadow on Tokyo
• Day 13: Aurora sets stage for meteor show
• Day 14: Apollo's last look at Earthrise
• Day 15: A sobering moment from space
• Day 16: Middle Earth spotted from orbit
• Day 17: Mount Etna erupts ... in 3-D!
• Day 18: Gaze into the Great Blue Hole
• Day 19: Mount Fuji goes fuzzy
• Day 20: Look down on a ruined Maya city
• Day 21: Pyramids have their day in the sun
• 2011 Cosmic Log Space Advent Calendar
• 2010 Cosmic Log Space Advent Calendar
• The Atlantic: Hubble Advent Calendar
• Zooniverse Advent Calendar