The government wants to know who is responsible for the collapse

The badly decomposed bodies were retrieved overnight on Sunday as the focus of the operation switches from a rescue effort to a clear up exercise.

Rescuers led by the army are still drilling holes to recover bodies in between the concrete layers of debris.

About 100 workers are still missing and around 84 have been rescued.

'Something wrong'

"Getting them out in one piece is almost impossible now as bodies are badly decomposed and spreading intolerable stench," a rescuer told the Reuters news agency on Monday.

Hopes are fading that survivors will be found

The rescue operation coordinator, Nizam Ahmed, told reporters that it was not clear how many people were inside the factory when it collapsed.

He said that the factory's owner had not produced a comprehensive list of the workers' names.

"I am sure there is something wrong with the missing estimate," Brigadier Ahmed said.

"Most probably many have been doubly reported by their illiterate relatives."

Family and friends of those still missing remain nearby the site at Savar, 32km (20 miles) from the capital, Dhaka, but most of the corpses are now so badly mangled that they are impossible to identify.

The grief stricken relatives could only do so by finding clothes or other personal effects of those who died.

"I have identified my cousin from his moneybag and shoe, Ismail Hossain told the Associated Press news agency.

Poor construction

The BBC's Waliur Rahman in Dhaka says that it will take several days before the results of two separate enquiries into the disaster on 11 April are made public.

The first enquiry is being carried out by the Dhaka Development Authority and another smaller investigation has been launched by the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA).

But the main enquiry has been delayed because of difficulties in finding and inspecting a boiler believed to have exploded shortly before the building collapsed.

It is near the ground floor, and rescuers say the bottom floors are so crushed that each measures only a few feet thick.

I have identified my cousin from his moneybag and shoe Ismail Hossain, relative of missing garment worker

The factory was built on a swamp three years ago, and investigators suspect its poor construction may also be a contributory factor behind the collapse.

Emergency services in Bangladesh said last week that it would be a 'miracle' if more survivors are found from the rubble of a collapsed garment factory.

The government says it will launch criminal proceedings against anyone guilty of negligence in relation to the collapse.

On Wednesday the army took charge of the search at Spectrum Sweater and Knitting Industries factory , as temperatures hit 34 degrees Celsius.