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.
(CNN) -- Seventy-two hours.
In any calamity, the first 72 hours are critical. The chances of finding survivors dwindle significantly after that.
But in the Dhaka suburb of Savar, Sunday marks day four of a catastrophic building collapse. And miraculously, from the rubble of mangled metal and cement, the living continue to emerge.
Authorities rescued four people from the crumbled nine-story building Sunday morning -- and rumors flew that more have been spotted in a small pocket in the sandwiched structure.
If true, the new survivors will add to the growing total of people pulled out alive, which already stands at more than 2,400.
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Buoyed by hope, authorities have decided to delay moving from a rescue operation to a recovery one.
The heavy machinery they brought in to tear through the large slabs of concrete sit idle for the moment as rescuers -- a combination of troops and volunteers -- claw through the dirt and debris with bare hands or with rusty saws.
"It's been made clear by the authorities that the highest priority would be to find survivors," said Morshed Ali Khan, a reporter with the Daily Star newspaper. "Machinery is the last option."
The death toll stands at 378. No one knows for sure how many remain unaccounted for. More than 600 by some counts.
Authorities have arrested six people: three factory owners, two government engineers and the owner of the building, Sohel Rana -- a local-level leader of the ruling Awamil League party. He had gone into hiding soon after the collapse, and police said he was trying to flee the country.
A deadly lure
The commercial building housed five garment factories, several shops and a bank.
The collapse occurred Wednesday morning, a day after cracks appeared in the structure. It led the bank to order its employees not to report for work, and the shops were closed because of a strike.
But garment workers were told to come in despite their concerns that the building's structure was not sound.
Savar, about 45 kilometers (27 miles) from the capital, Dhaka, is home to many of the country's more than 4,000 garment factories.
Bangladesh is among the top exporters of clothes to the United States and Europe; the industry accounts for 77% of its exports.
And while deadly accidents and deplorable conditions at garment factories are all too common, the pay is still a lure for many in this impoverished country, where the minimum wage is $38 a month.
The last major building collapse in Bangladesh occurred in 2005, in the same area as Wednesday's, and killed more than 70.
In November, a fire at Tazreen Fashions Factory in another suburb of Dhaka killed at least 112 people.
And now this.
The daily rhythm
At this disaster zone, the pungent stench of death permeates the air.
Rescue workers cover their faces with T-shirts to escape the smell of decaying flesh.
But it often proves too much. They keel over and vomit.
Each body pulled out takes an emotional toll. Each more heart-wrenching than the one before.
Over the weekend, rescuers found an outstretched hand sticking out from the rubble. In the man's clenched fist, a crumpled piece of paper.
"Dear father and mother," it read. "Please forgive me that I can't buy your medication anymore. Dear brother, please tend to our parents."
The note then named the victim's village. "Please send my body there."
In another case, workers found two bodies covered in dust. A man and a woman holding each other in an embrace as they awaited death.
Khan, the reporter, recalled coming across a man trapped from his waist down under a heavy slab of concrete.
Awakened by the flash from photographers' cameras, he pleaded to be rescued.
"Brothers, please save me! Please save me!" he urged.
For three days, he pleaded.
But there was little anyone could do. The slab proved too heavy to lift off him, Khan said.
The man died.
But the miracles keep workers going.
A woman was pulled out after more than 45 hours. She had been trapped under a machine. After failing to pull her hand out, rescue workers were forced to saw it off. But she lived.
Another woman who went into labor and gave birth while trapped was also pulled out alive. Her baby also lived.
Opinion: In light of the factory collapse, who really pays for our cheap clothes?
The desperate wait
Outside the perimeter of the rescue area, family members wait, holding hands, mouthing silent prayers, holding pictures of missing relatives.
Gone are the wailing and crying that punctuated the air the first few days after the building crumbled.
As hope died, so did the tears.
Each time a body is pulled out -- dead or alive -- there's a desperate dart toward ambulances.
It ends in a wild cheer in some cases. But in most, heaves and sobs follow.
"The whole situation is so helpless," Khan said. "They don't know how to lift these slabs. They don't have the right equipment."
The unapproved plan
Disaster Management Minister Abul Hasan Mahmood Ali said Sunday the building was not built up to code.
It was erected on a wetland, and engineers used substandard materials for construction.
Furthermore, he said, the government never approved the plan.
The revelations are sure to fuel the outrage that's been burning for days in the country following the collapse.
But those at the scene say finger-pointing can come later.
There are people still in the rubble. It's been more than 100 hours.
And time is not on their side.
Journalists Farid Ahmed and Sajjad Hussein contributed to this report from Savar, Bangladesh, and David Bergman contributed from Dhaka, Bangladesh
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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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