Survivor found in Bangladesh rubble of a garment factory

DHAKA. A survivor has been found in the rubble of a garment factory, 17 days after it collapsed, killing more than 1,000 people.

Friday, May 10, 2013
A woman is pulled alive from the ruins of a building that collapsed 17 days ago in Bangladesh. Net photo.

DHAKA. A survivor has been found in the rubble of a garment factory, 17 days after it collapsed, killing more than 1,000 people.The woman, who identified herself to rescuers as Reshma, had cried out for help as recovery teams sifted through the remnants of the Rana Plaza in the outskirts of Bangladesh capital, Dhaka."She has been located in a gap between a beam and a column. She may have reserves of water or have drunk some of the water that we’ve pumped into the building,” Ahmed Ali, fire service chief, told AFP news agency.A workman helping to clear the wreckage reported hearing her faint cries of "save me, save me” from beneath the ruins. Upon investigation, he discovered the woman alive, hitting a metal pole against the rubble to make noise and attract attention.Army engineers fed her biscuits and water, before digging through to release her - as hundreds of onlookers cheered.Pale and drawn, the woman was hoisted out of the rubble on a stretcher, then loaded into an ambulance in scenes broadcast live on television."She has been rescued and taken to a military hospital,” said Bangladesh’s army spokesman Shahinul Islam.The army said Reshma had come through her ordeal with no significant injuries. She survived on food around where she was trapped, but hadn’t eaten for two days, she told rescuers.More than 2,500 people were rescued in the immediate aftermath of the eight-storey building’s collapse on April 24, but it remains unknown how many more corpses or survivors may lay in the wreckage.About 1,000 textile workers are suffering from serious injuries following the collapse, including scores who had to undergo amputations in order to be freed from the rubble.