At least 80 people are dead and there are fears the toll will go higher from the collapse of an eight-story in Dhaka, Bangladesh.  More than 600 people are hurt, but more than 2 thousand people were thought to have been inside.

A witness said, “It became completely dark on this side. There was a lot of dust from the collapsing debris, so we ran downstairs. When we came out we saw the whole building collapsed.”

The Rana Plaza building housed many garment factories, as well as a bank and a market.  It caved in at about 9:00 O’Clock in the morning after people noticed cracks in the building earlier in the week, according to local media.

“There were some crack at the second floor, but my factory was on the fifth floor,” said garment factory owner Muhammad Anisur Rahman.  “The owner of the building told our floor manager that it is not a problem and so you can open the factory.”

At least one of the shops had been contracted to supply clothing for the Wal-Mart chain of discount stores.

Fires and other accidents have plagued Bangladesh’s booming garment industry for years, despite a drive to improve safety standards.  Last November, 112 workers were killed in a blaze at the Tazreen factory in a nearby industrial suburb.

Building collapses are also no stranger to Dhaka, where construction is often either in violation of building codes, or performed without any official permission.