Woman Worker Rescued Alive 17 Days After The Bangladesh Building Collapse
By Countercurrents.org
13 May, 2013
Countercurrents.org
Reshma, a woman garments worker, has been pulled alive from the ruins of a building that collapsed in Savar, a suburb of Bangladesh's capital, Dhaka, 17 days after the disaster.
The dramatic news came after the Savar-garment factory-cave in-death toll rose, up to May 10, 2013 morning, to 1,047.
Reshma, had been found on May 10, 2013 in the remains of the basement of the collapsed nine-storey Rana Plaza in Savar. She had no serious injuries and had been talking with rescuers. Reshma has been sent to hospital.
On May 10, 2013 afternoon, army officers ordered workers to stop clearing the site when the woman's cries were heard. Within minutes, hundreds of rescuers gathered close to the place Reshma was found. Within a short period, at 4:25 pm local time, rescuers pulled her from the rubble. She has been taken to a military hospital
Rescuers gave her water and biscuit, stopping use of any heavy machines to make sure that the survivor is not hurt anyway.
More than 400 hours into the collapse, a rescuer heard Reshma groaning around 3:15pm.
According to rescuers, they were preparing to break a large slab when the miracle happened.
“As we made an announcement before starting to break the slab asking whether there was anyone alive in there, we heard someone groan,” said a rescuer. As they jubilant rescuers inquired about her condition, she said she was not much hurt, said the rescuers. “Reshma,” she replied in a feeble voice, as they asked her name.
Shaheena
Daily Star, the leading Dhaka daily, reported on May 10, 2013:
Shaheena, another woman worker, was found surviving inside the debris on April 28, more than 100 hours after the building collapse.
But rescuers could not pull her out of the rubble alive even after trying their best.
Ezazuddin Kaikobad, 35, who along with five other rescuers, including two army personnel, entered a tunnel inside the rubble of Rana Plaza on April 28 to pull out garment worker Shaheena, who got trapped behind a beam on the third floor.
A fire broke out as Ezaz was cutting a rod with power saw. The fire broke out from the sparks that originated from the rod-cutting, prompting the rescue team to retreat immediately. He was admitted to the burn unit of CMH in Dhaka with around 55 percent burn injuries. He died in a Singapore hospital on May 5.
The death toll
The Savar-death toll has reached 1,043 on May 10, 2013, the 17th day of the disaster. Thirty bodies were recovered between 6:00am and 2:30pm.
The rescuers are still expecting more bodies from the rubble.
According to the control room set at the building collapse site, the number of people rescued alive were 2,437.
Rana Plaza, which housed several garment factories, collapsed after owners forced several thousand workers to work there even after cracks had developed on some pillars and floors the day before.
The number of workers there on that fateful day is still unknown.
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