DHAKA: Italian apparel company Benetton says it plans to offer financial compensation for the 2013 Rana Plaza collapse that killed 1,127 people, the worst tragedy to strike the global garment industry.

Benetton said in a statement Friday that it will contribute to a fund established in early 2014 for victims.

The company said the amount to be contributed will be determined by an unidentified, independent third party and will be disclosed once the figure is determined.

Unions campaigning on behalf of the victims of the 2013 Rana Plaza building collapse called for Benetton to make a "significant contribution" noting that the brand sourced from the building where the collapse occurred.

They also urged caution, noting that Benetton had backed out of a U.N.-backed trust fund for the victims.

The Rana Plaza Donors Trust Fund, chaired by the United Nations' International Labor Organisation (ILO), said on its website that it needed an overall $40 million to cover claims from victims and survivors.

The fund still needs $9 million to reach that amount.

Source: ABC News

BDST: 1448 HRS, FEB 21, 2015