Workers continue rescue and recovery operations 12 days after the Rana Plaza building collapsed, in Savar, Dhaka, Bangladesh on Tuesday, May 7, 2013. More than 700 people died when the Rana Plaza, which housed garment factories and shops, collapsed on April 24. Workers continue to find bodies, many of them decomposed and difficult to recognize.
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Dhaka, Bangladesh (CNN) -- Bangladesh's prime minster and House leader called Thursday for those responsible for the deadly collapse of an eight-story building outside the capital city of Dhaka to be punished.
"None would be spared," said Sheikh Hasina. "Whoever might be the culprits, and if even they belong our party, they won't go Scot-free."
She said the building should not have been reoccupied after cracks developed in the structure on Tuesday.
"But the workers were forced by the owners of the garment factories to join the work on Wednesday, and suddenly the building collapsed," she said.
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Her call came more than a day after the collapse, as rescuers were searching for survivors and thousands of people were taking to the streets to protest lax safety conditions.
By Friday morning, the death toll had reached 270, said Dhaka District Police Chief Habibur Rahman. Hundreds more were feared still trapped inside the pile of rubble, over which the stench of death hovered.
About 8:15 p.m. Thursday, about 36 hours after the collapse, 25 people were rescued "from a place inside the debris in between the first and third floor," Director General Brig. Gen. Ali Ahmed Khan of Fire Brigade and Civil Defense told the news agency. One of the people died en route to the hospital, he said.
He said rescue efforts would continue until 9 a.m. Saturday, 72 hours after the incident. After that, heavy equipment would be used to retrieve the bodies, he said.
Some 2,013 people had been rescued, according to Maj. Gen. Abul Hassan Sarwardy, who is overseeing the effort, according to Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha.
The building fell Wednesday morning, entombing its contents in a pile of broken concrete and twisted metal.
Food and bottles of water were being dropped to areas where people were trapped.
The building housed five garment factories employing about 2,500 workers, a bank and 300 shops, the news agency said.
After cracks appeared in the building Tuesday, many of the workers had expressed concern about its safety, survivors said.
But factory owners told them the building was safe and ordered them to report for work, the survivors said.
"The fact is, we don't know yet how many people were killed actually ... but I can tell you the building was not built in compliance with the (safety) rules and regulations," Home Minister Mahiuddin Khan Alamgir said Wednesday.
The nation's high court ordered the owners of the building and of the factories to appear in court on April 30, CNN affiliate Boishakhi Television said.
Thousands of people protested the collapse in the streets of Dhaka on Thursday. Many carried black flags; some set fires, and others used clubs to break the windshields of passing trucks.
Hundreds of workers from different factories lay siege to the head office of the Bangladesh Garments Manufacturers and Exporters Association at Karwan Bazar in Dhaka.
They demanded the immediate arrest of the factory owners and called for the death penalty for Sohel Rana, the owner of the building.
The owners of the factories and the building housing them had gone into hiding, Savar police said. They are facing cases from regulators and police over the construction of the building and the workers' exposure to risk, the agency said.
Association Vice President Shahidullah Azim said the organization had suspended the five factories' memberships.
The incident is the latest to strike Bangladesh's garment industry, which employs more than 4 million people -- most of them women -- and regularly comes under scrutiny for its slipshod safety standards.
It also raises questions for the Western brands that contract with factories here to make their products. According to Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha (BSS), the national news agency, the United States receives 23% of the products -- the largest percentage of any nation.
Ninety percent of the country's buildings are not built according to code, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina said. "For this, shall we have to demolish all the buildings right now?" she asked. "Why was there no awareness before building such constructions?"
A rush to help, then mourning
Rescue crews carried off the injured and dead on stretchers Wednesday. Some of them used brightly colored material from the garment factories to cart off the victims.
Some onlookers wept while others dug with their bare hands. "After learning that the building collapsed, I rushed here looking for my wife, but until now I haven't found her," said Siraj Miah.
Abdul Alim, a day laborer, said he heard screams from inside the building.
"We couldn't make our way to get in," said Alim, one of thousands of onlookers who tried to reach trapped victims before military, fire and civil defense rescuers arrived.
Flags nationwide were flying at half-staff Thursday after the government declared a national day of mourning.
Workers told to enter
Authorities say they have not determined the cause of the collapse.
Workers from the garment factories said that after the cracks were discovered Tuesday, managers initially ordered them not to report to work the next day.
But factory owners reversed the order, telling employees that the building was safe, said Marjina Begum, who worked on the sixth floor.
Many workers reported to work Wednesday because they were afraid of losing their jobs, she said. More than a dozen other workers corroborated her story.
Managers for the garment manufacturers housed inside the building could not be reached for comment.
M. Atiqul Islam, president of the garment manufacturers association, said owners kept the factories open only after the building's owner told them the cracks did not indicate a threat to the structure of the building.
Employees of a bank branch were removed from the building Tuesday after the crack was detected and were ordered not to show up Wednesday, according to a statement from the bank cited by the news agency. None of the bank's workers was among the injured or dead, it said.
In addition, a strike had shut a mall housing hundreds of shops on the building's two lowest floors.
Links to retailers
Garment contractors here appeal to merchants because of workers' low wages.
It was not immediately clear which retailers were doing business with the factories.
Previous disasters
The last major building collapse in the country occurred in 2005 in the same area and killed more than 70 people, the national news agency said.
A fire at the Tazreen Fashions Factory in another suburb of Dhaka in November killed at least 112 people. Tazreen had made goods for Walmart and Sears, though both companies said they were unaware that the factory had made goods for them.
Garments account for 80% of Bangladesh's $24 billion in exports.
The country has about 4,500 garment factories where workers make clothes for various international brands. It's on track to surpass China within seven years as the world's largest apparel manufacturer.
Scott Nova, executive director of the Worker Rights Consortium, said the pressure to cut prices results in substandard safety conditions.
"The worse the dangers get, the more business comes in, so the government has no incentive to fix anything," he said. "We ask ourselves every day what it's going to take to fix this."
CNN's Tom Watkins reported and wrote from Atlanta; journalist Farid Ahmed reported from Dhaka. CNN's Jethro Mullen, Elizabeth Joseph, Samira Said and Sumnima Udas and CNNMoney's Emily Jane Fox contributed to this report.
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Rescue workers recover a body from the rubble on May 7, 2013.
Relatives place a body in the back of a truck on May 7, 2013.
A woman attempts to identify one of the bodies kept in a schoolyard on May 7, 2013.
Members of the Bangladeshi army and firefighters carry the body of a garment worker from the scene of the building collapse in Savar, outside Dhaka, on Sunday, May 5.
A woman holds a portrait of her missing relative as she sleeps on Saturday, May 4.
Relatives attempt to identify the bodies of loved ones on May 4.
Rescue workers dig out debris from the Rana Plaza building as Bangladeshi army personnel continue the second phase of a rescue operation using heavy equipment on Friday, May 3.
A woman reacts on May 3 after identifying a body found in the rubble.
A man stands amid the destruction as rescue and army personnel continue recovery operations on May 3.
A woman holds up a picture of a missing person believed to be trapped in the rubble on May 3.
A garment worker rescued from the wreckage of the Rana Plaza building lies in a hospital in Dhaka on Thursday, May 2.
A woman weeps after identifying her daughter's body in the rubble in Savar on May 2.
Rescue workers move debris as Bangladeshi army personnel continue the second phase of a rescue operation at the site of the collapsed building in Savar on May 2.
A woman mourns before a mass burial in Dhaka on Wednesday, May 1.
Unidentified bodies from the rubble lie on the ground as people gather for a mass burial in Dhaka on May 1.
Workers dig graves during a mass burial of unidentified garment workers on May 1.
Sohel Rana, owner of the collapsed Rana Plaza building, wears police-issued body armor and a helmet while being escorted to court in Dhaka on Tuesday, April 30. Rana was arrested near the Indian border, and protesters called for him to be hanged.
Bangladeshi troops carry the body of a garment worker out of the rubble of the collapsed Rana Plaza building in Savar on April 30.
Clothing with Joe Fresh labels lies in the debris on April 30.
Cranes operated by Bangladeshi army personnel work on Monday, April 29.
Firefighters try to control a blaze that started while they were trying to rescue a woman with heavy equipment on April 29.
Bangladeshi army personnel begin the second phase of the rescue operation using heavy equipment on April 29.
Rescuers look for survivors on Sunday, April 28. The Bangladesh Red Crescent Society says the chances of finding anyone alive in the rubble at this date are remote.
A woman mourns on April 28 at the site of the building collapse in Savar.
Rescue workers search for survivors on April 28.
Volunteers sleep before they begin more rescue operations on April 28.
Rescue workers carry a victim's body recovered from the rubble on April 28.
Clothes lie in the rubble on Saturday, April 27.
An arrested owner of a garment factory is escorted to an appearance at the court in Dhaka on April 27. Four people were arrested and four others are being questioned by police.
Relatives hold photos of missing and dead workers outside the factory April 27.
Two Bangladeshi women look at a board with notices posted of missing and dead workers on April 27.
Bangladeshi relatives and workers load a body onto a truck on April 27.
An excavator operated by the Bangladeshi Army removes debris on April 26.
Volunteers and rescue workers conduct rescue operations on April 26.
Rescue workers use textile as a slide to move bodies out of the rubble on April 26.
Rescue workers look for trapped garment workers on April 26.
Rescue workers stand on the rubble of the collapsed building on April 26.
Rescue workers search the rubble for victims and survivors on April 26.
A rescue worker looks for trapped workers on April 26.
Bangladeshi army personnel recover a survivor from rubble on April 26, 48 hours after the collapse.
Volunteers and rescue workers assist in rescue operations on April 26.
A physician assists a survivor after he was recovered from the rubble on April 26.
People rescue garment workers trapped at a building outside Dhaka, Bangladesh, on Thursday, April 25.
A Bangladeshi woman shows a picture of her missing daughter-in-law she believes is trapped in the collapsed building on April 25.
Bangladeshi firefighters cut a hole through concrete during rescue operations on April 25 in Savar, a suburb of Dhaka.
Volunteers and rescue workers work at the scene on April 25.
A woman appears devastated on April 25 after identifying the body of her husband killed in the building collapse.
Bangladeshi garment workers help evacuate a survivor by using a roll of fabric on April 24.
People rescue garment workers on Wednesday, April 24, after the building caved in, leaving a chaotic mass of broken concrete and twisted metal.
Relatives who lost a brother mourn outside a hospital on April 24.
Rescuers help an injured garment worker to escape from the Rana Plaza building on the outskirts of Dhaka on April 24.
Civilians help an injured garment worker on April 24. Work was proceeding slowly to avoid causing further collapse, an official said.
Rescue workers search for trapped garment workers in the Rana Plaza building on April 24.
An injured Bangladeshi lies on the hospital floor on April 24.
The injured receive treatment at a hospital on April 24.
An injured person rests in a hospital bed on April 24.
People wait anxiously on April 24 while rescuers search for survivors.
Rescuers help an injured person out of the seventh floor on April 24.
Civilians help out in rescue efforts at the collapsed building on April 24.
Hundreds watch the rescue operations on April 24.
People search for garment workers trapped under the debris on April 24.
Rescuers help an injured worker on April 24.
A body is trapped under the damaged building on April 24.
A woman is carried away from the building on April 24.
A rescue worker carries a worker to an ambulance on April 24.
Crowds gather around the collapsed building on April 24.
Rescuers bring out an injured garment worker from the building's sixth floor.
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