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.
Savar, Bangladesh (CNN) -- A week after a building containing thousands of Bangladeshi garment workers came crashing down around them, the death toll from the South Asian nation's deadliest industrial disaster rose above 400.
Workers using heavy machinery are gradually picking apart the huge, splintered slabs of concrete at the scene of the collapse in Savar, a suburb of the capital, Dhaka. They continue to find and remove bodies, many of them decomposed and difficult to recognize.
Meanwhile, throngs of mourners attended a funeral for 32 unidentified victims whose bodies were unclaimed.
And Pope Francis, speaking at a Mass on Wednesday, referred to the building collapse in a sharp condemnation of worker exploitation and "slave labor."
"Not paying a just (wage), not providing work, focusing exclusively on the balance books, on financial statements, only looking at making personal profit. That goes against God!" he said, quoted on the Vatican Radio website.
Bangladeshi property tycoon Sohel Rana, center, is escorted to the High Court in Dhaka wearing police-issued body armor as protests calling for his prosecution continue, Tuesday, April 30. Nearly 400 people died when the Rana Plaza building collapsed Wednesday, April 24. Officials say it's unlikely any more survivors will be found in the rubble.
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The collapse of the building has caused widespread anger among Bangladesh's millions of garment workers about the risky conditions in which many of them must work.
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Frequent protests, some of them involving violent clashes with police, have taken place in Dhaka and nearby manufacturing districts since the disaster.
On Wednesday, when workers around the world were holding May Day rallies, thousands of Bangladeshis took to the streets once again, although no clashes were initially reported.
As trucks carrying rubble leave the scene of the catastrophe, people search desperately for missing relatives crowd around them, wanting to make sure they're not mistakenly taking away the bodies of their loved ones, said Maj. Gen. Hassan Sarwardy, the military official leading the recovery efforts.
There was confusion earlier about exactly how many people were still unaccounted for in the collapse, Sarwardy said at a news briefing Wednesday. Authorities were waiting for the Bangladesh Garments Manufacturers and Exporters Association to provide a list of all the people who were inside the five garment factories in the building when it caved in, he said.
When that information was obtained, Sarwardy said it appeared about 149 people were still missing.
"It is very unlikely that someone is still alive under the rubble on the seventh day of the building collapse ... but the almighty Allah knows better," the military official said.
Authorities say the number of people confirmed dead so far is 412, while 2,443 people have been recovered alive, according to the official Bangladesh State News Agency.
And so, the search for the human remains still entombed within the ruins goes on amid the stench of death that pervades the site.
Those involved in the search are using face masks and cans of air freshener to try to block out the smell, and electronic sensors and sniffer dogs to try to find the bodies.
Col. Shayekh Jaman, one of the officials involved in the operation, said Wednesday that he believed the grueling, painstaking efforts could continue for about 10 more days.
"It is a delicate and time-consuming operation, but we are doing everything we can," he said.
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Lost relatives
Meanwhile, hundreds of people such as Sheikh Nasir Uddin are left in limbo.
At the school playground in Savar where bodies recovered from the wreckage are initially brought for identification, Uddin said he had being looking for his nephew, Abul Kalam Azad, for the past week.
He said visits to all the hospitals in Savar and Dhaka where the injured and the dead were taken had proved fruitless.
"Nobody can tell me about my nephew, who was working at an apparel factory in the building," he said.
Much of the rage voiced in protests has been directed at Sohel Rana, the owner of the building, who was arrested near the Indian border over the weekend. Protesters have called for him to be hanged.
Rana and the owners of the factories in his building have been accused of ordering workers to enter the premises on the day of the collapse, despite the discovery of large cracks the day before.
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The Bangladeshi government is also coming under criticism for lax enforcement of safety regulations in factories and claims by Britain and the United Nations that it refused offers of help with rescue efforts.
Home Minister Mahiuddin Khan Alamgir said Tuesday that the rejection was because Bangladesh had only wanted equipment to be sent, not the additional search and rescue experts offered by the outside agencies.
EU considers trade action
In a sign of the growing international pressure on Dhaka to improve labor conditions, the European Union said Tuesday that it was considering trade action against Bangladesh. The statement carries weight, since the EU is Bangladesh's largest trade partner.
The Bangladeshi government said this week that it would begin inspecting the safety and security of all garment factories in the country.
Major Western retailers and clothing brands, some of which sourced products from the factories in the collapsed building, are also facing difficult questions about how closely they scrutinize working conditions at their suppliers.
"We understand that businesses operating in this building appear to have links to numerous companies in the U.S. and Europe and so we'll continue to engage with U.S. companies to discuss what role they can play in improving working conditions, including in Bangladesh," U.S. State Department spokesman Patrick Ventrell said Wednesday.
The catastrophic building collapse happened about five months after a fire at Tazreen Fashions Factory, a garment maker in another suburb of Dhaka, killed at least 112 people.
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CNN's Jethro Mullen reported and wrote from Hong Kong, and journalist Farid Ahmed reported from Savar. CNN's Elizabeth Joseph in Hong Kong and Zarifmo Aslamshoyeva in Atlanta 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.
Bangladeshis march on April 30, demanding capital punishment for Rana in Savar, Bangladesh, outside the capital, Dhaka.
Garment workers block a street during a protest Monday, April 29.
Bangladeshi garment workers protest in Savar on Saturday, April 27. Four people were arrested and four others are being questioned by police. The building owner has gone into hiding.
Bangladeshi army personnel and police from villagers on Friday, April 26, after protests broke out at the site of a building collapse 48 hours earlier in Savar, outside Dhaka.
Garment workers block a street in Savar, demanding the arrest of the owner of the Rana Plaza building.
Bangladeshi police fire tear gas at protesters amid the rubble of the building.
Garment workers block a street as they march to demand the arrest of the owner of the Rana Plaza building.
Plainclothes Bangladeshi police brandish sticks as they attempt to break up protests.
Firefighters work after protesters set fire to a spinning mill in Gazipur.
A man cleans up a restaurant after protesters broke its windows.
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