Dhaka building collapse: Woman rescued alive after 17 days

10 May 2013 11:10 am

A woman has been pulled alive from the ruins of a building that collapsed in a suburb of Bangladesh's capital, Dhaka, 17 days ago.

The head of the fire service earlier said the woman, named Reshma, had been found in the remains of the second floor of the eight-storey Rana Plaza.
She had no serious injuries and had been talking with rescuers.

The dramatic news came after the army said more than 1,000 people were now known to have died in the disaster.The death toll is expected to keep climbing, as work crews using heavy machinery have begun removing rubble from the worst-damaged areas.

On Friday afternoon, as soldiers cleared a floor, they heard sounds below, correspondents say.Officers immediately ordered workers to stop clearing the site.Detection equipment was sent in and they saw a woman waving her hand. She shouted "I'm still here" and said her name was Reshma.

Within minutes, hundreds of soldiers and firefighters rushed to the scene to help clear the rubble, says the BBC Bengali service's Akbar Hossain.
Cutting and drilling equipment was brought in to get through iron rods and debris. Not long afterwards, she was pulled from the rubble and the crowd erupted in cheers, our correspondent says.

The woman was taken to an ambulance and then rushed to a nearby military hospital.
Rescuers said it was possible that the woman survived because of the large quantities of oxygen and water that were pumped into the ruins in the early stages of the rescue effort. (BBC)