Despite the recovery of about 700 bodies till Tuesday, many shocked families await bodies when hundreds of workers of the collapsed Bangladesh building that housed five garment factories staged demonstration for hours seeking salary.

The demonstrating workers of the factories also staged a road blockade for four hours outside the collapsed building at Savar on the outskirts of capital Dhaka in protest against non-payment of wage arrears and other allowances.

Agitating workers say the apex body of the apparel owners had earlier pledged to pay their dues within May 7.

"We've been forced to take to the street as there is no information till now to disburse our salary today (Tuesday)," said a worker who did not like to be named.

The worker, one of the lucky survivors, said, "We're leading a miserable life as salary for April and several months before also remained unpaid fully or partially."

An official at the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) said the apparel apex body has so far completed the list of workers of two garment factories out of five in the building -- Rana Plaza.

The official who preferred to be unnamed said they would get their wages on completion of the list of workers of all the factories.

"We need several more days to prepare the list of workers of all the factories to give them salary," he said.

But Dhaka district's administration said salary will be disbursed from Tuesday evening.

"I've come to know from the BGMEA that their salary may be given from this evening," Deputy Commissioner or Administrative Chief of Dhaka district Sheikh Yusuf Harun told Xinhua.

Amid assurance of the authorities, the agitating workers, however, lifted their about four-hour blockade which along with heavy rains in the morning hours snarled rescue operations to some extent.

The rescuers continued their relentless efforts to search for more bodies which still remain stuck in concrete slabs of the sandwiched building that crumbled like a pack of cards on April 24 at about 8:30 a.m. local time.

With the fresh recovery of nearly two dozen more bodies on Tuesday, Harun said, "the death toll of the building collapse has risen to 697 till Tuesday afternoon."

Independent television put death toll of the tragedy at 705 as the grim recovery work continued in one of the worst industrial accidents ever.

But 14 days into the tragedy Bangladesh authorities can't say the exact number of people who still remain missing in the deadly building collapse when many victims' shocked relatives, who already left the hope of finding their loved ones alive, still await bodies.

In search for their missing loved ones, many were seen around the scene of the collapsed building while others were making trips to nearby hospitals and a school ground where the bodies are initially kept for identification.

"The rescue operation will continue until the recovery of the last body," Harun reiterated as this correspondent repeated a frequently asked question regarding the number of missing workers.

The stench of decaying bodies still remained around the ruins of the building. Many more bodies are being spotted as the authorities expedite the entire operations with cranes and other heavy equipment since April 28.

Following the cracks detected just one day before the man-made disaster, the workers were evacuated and garments authorities declared a leave for April 23, but none has bothered about the cracks when officials of the factories in the building forced the workers on the next morning to join workplaces.

According to sources, almost all the fatalities are workers of the five factories -- Phantom Apparels, Phantom Tac, Ether Tex, New Wave Style and New Wave Bottoms -- which make clothing for many major global brands.

Six floors of the building housed the five garment factories which, according to the months-old data of the owners' association, employed nearly 3,122 workers, mostly women. There were also a bank's branch and hundreds of shops inside the building.

Rescuers have pulled alive more than 2,437 people after the eight-storey building Rana Plaza crumbled.

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