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Bangladesh Exults as Garment Worker, Against All Odds, Is Pulled From Rubble 17 Days in Darkness, a Cry of ‘Save Me,’ and Joy
(about 3 hours later)
DHAKA, Bangladesh — A woman trapped for 17 days beneath the rubble of a collapsed building on the outskirts of Dhaka was discovered alive on Friday and then rushed to a nearby military hospital after rescuers pulled her free. DHAKA, Bangladesh — Day after day, the grim drudgery of digging for bodies had progressed at Rana Plaza. Talk of rescuing survivors had faded. This was the recovery phase, and what was being recovered were corpses, the numbers spinning remorselessly forward: 700 dead became 800, then 900, with no end in sight.
The woman, whose name is Reshma, had apparently been in the basement of the building, possibly in a Muslim prayer room. Rescuers, speaking live on national television from the wreckage site in Savar, said they were clearing debris on Friday afternoon when they saw a pipe moving. It turned out to be Reshma, shaking the pipe from below, trying to gain attention. By Friday morning, the number had pushed above 1,000. And then, late in the afternoon, a soldier from the Bangladeshi Army, standing atop the rubble of the wrecked building, noticed an iron rod that seemed to be moving. There was a noise, a voice. Rescuers hurriedly carved a hole through a concrete pillar. Television stations in Bangladesh cut to the scene: a woman, gasping, was alive in the wreckage, nearly 17 full days after Rana Plaza had collapsed.
“Save me!” rescuers say they heard her shouting. A new number was announced: One. A female garment worker named Reshma. A survivor. A miracle.
The stunning discovery transformed what had been an especially gloomy day in the recovery effort, as the death toll pushed past 1,000 victims. More than 3,000 people were believed to be working at five clothing factories in the building, Rana Plaza, when it collapsed on the morning of April 24 in what is now considered the worst disaster in the history of the garment industry. “Save me!” rescuers heard her shout, before they pulled her into the afternoon light, her face powdered in dust as she was placed on a stretcher.
Reshma’s rescue was broadcast on television across Bangladesh. She was wearing a purple and red salwar kameez as she was removed from the rubble. One of the rescuers, a soldier with the Bangladeshi Army, told television crews that Reshma had discovered food and water that had lasted until two days ago The Rana Plaza collapse is now considered the deadliest disaster in the history of the garment industry. Five factories were operating inside the building when the structure pancaked downward. The carnage was horrific and has focused global attention on unsafe conditions in Bangladeshi garment factories that make clothing for American and European consumers — especially since there were advance warnings that the structure was unsafe.
Another rescuer, Lieutenant Colonel Moazzem, told Bangladesh’s state news agency that he and another soldier discovered Reshma after cutting a hole to the basement. The rescue of Reshma, as described by rescuers and government officials, has offered a temporary respite from the gloom and a startling tale of resilience: She survived in an opening maybe 10 feet by 8 feet in size, high enough for her to stand, within a penumbra of collapsed beams and pillars. Air trickled through the crevices. She found enough food and water to last until two days ago.
“I told her, ‘Mother, don’t be afraid, we are here to rescue you,’ ” said Colonel Moazzem, according to the agency. “Would you like a drink of water?” He told reporters that Reshma was given saline and biscuits before rescuers removed her from the wreckage. Reaction in Bangladesh was euphoric. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina rushed to the military hospital where Reshma had been taken. Twelve days earlier, on April 28, rescuers had worked desperately to save another woman, Shaheena, who was then thought to be the last survivor. But she died after a fire broke out in the final hour of the rescue operation.
Ali Ahmed Khan, director general of the Bangladesh Fire Service, said Reshma was apparently inside a Muslim prayer room, which had oxygen and enough clear space for her to stand up. Reshma’s rescue, if amazing, is not without precedent. More than two weeks after the catastrophic 2010 earthquake in Haiti, a 16-year-old girl was discovered inside a collapsed home, having survived by eating yogurt and vegetables, and a man was found in the rubble of Port-au-Prince many days after that. But experts say such incidents are extremely rare.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina was rushing to the military hospital where Reshma is being treated. At Rana Plaza, recovery crews had little hope of finding a survivor when work began on Friday. A five-member Army rescue team had begun using heavy machinery to crack into an area of the building’s basement but found it flooded with water. As they worked from the first floor, searching for the source of water, they noticed a movement.
Days earlier, rescuers had given up any hope of finding more survivors and had started using heavy machinery to more quickly clear debris from the site. Before Friday, the last survivor was thought to have been a woman named Shaheena; rescuers spent more than 20 hours on April 28 trying to save Shaheena before a fire broke out, killing her. The authorities have said more than 2,000 people were rescued or escaped on their own. “Suddenly we saw the movement of a stick,” Major M. M. Moazzem Hossain, a member of the team, said in an interview. “Someone from the second floor was trying to draw attention by inserting a stick through a narrow hole. When we reached there, we asked, ‘Is there anyone inside? ”
Mr. Khan, the fire service director general, said work crews would “for the time being” suspend the use of heavy machinery and resume rescue searches in the remaining rubble. A female voice shouted out, “Save me!”
“We are very delighted,” said Mr. Khan, noting that rescuers had taken pains to work carefully in case someone was still alive. “The army and fire service has been working very, very cautiously.” Major Hossain said the woman had told him her name was Reshma.
The rescue brought to mind a similar scene from Haiti in 2010 when a 16-year-old girl was plucked from beneath the rubble of a collapsed house 15 days after a deadly earthquake struck outside Port-au-Prince. A Haitian man, who was buried in the rubble of a market, was found 27 days after the quake. Rescue workers said it was very rare for people trapped in rubble to survive beyond six days without food or water. “We are with you,” he said he had told her. “We will not move out from this place without rescuing you.”
The death toll, now at 1,021, has been rising quickly in recent days, and will probably keep climbing, as work crews are now removing rubble from some of the most heavily damaged sections of the building. Now the soldiers and a group of firefighters began cutting a hole, using a hand drill and hammers, to try to reach her. “We were aware of the tragic accident during the operation to rescue Shaheena,” he said. “So we were very careful.”
Located in an industrial suburb of Dhaka, the capital, Rana Plaza exemplified many of safety problems plaguing the garment industry in Bangladesh, the world’s second-leading garment exporter, trailing only China. The authorities in Bangladesh now say the building was illegally constructed, with permits obtained through political influence. The owner, Sohel Rana, now in jail, was illegally adding upper floors to the structure at the time the building collapsed, officials said. For an hour, they kept cutting, making a hole about a foot and a half in diameter. Major Hossain said he squeezed through the hole and helped bring Reshma out. Startled, gazing curiously into the sunlight, Reshma was placed on a stretcher and taken immediately to the military hospital.
It is unclear exactly where in the factory she had been trapped, especially since the floors were compressed together after the collapse. Some officials have said she was inside the basement, though Rezaul Karim, deputy director of the Bangladesh Fire Service, said it was more likely she had been on either the first or second floor.
“We found her in the middle of these two floors,” he said.
Initially, some officials said she had been discovered inside a Muslim prayer room but those accounts now appear to be wrong, Officer Karim said.
Instead, she found refuge in an unusually large space created by falling beams and pillars. Many survivors had been trapped in crawl spaces barely two feet high. But Reshma was in a space large enough for her to stand, sleep and walk, Major Hossain said. She also had found water and food, though her food apparently became rotten and inedible two days ago. Garment workers usually bring their lunches and it is possible she was trapped in an area where lunches had been stored.
“Reshma was quite strong and there was adequate oxygen,” he added. “We only gave her juice and water.”
The Rana Plaza death toll, now at 1,053, has been rising quickly in recent days, and will probably keep climbing. Located in an industrial suburb of Dhaka, Rana Plaza exemplified many of safety problems plaguing the garment industry in Bangladesh, the world’s second-leading garment exporter, trailing only China.
The authorities in Bangladesh now say the building was illegally constructed, with permits obtained through political influence. The owner, Sohel Rana, now in jail, was illegally adding upper floors to the structure at the time the building collapsed, officials said.
The accident has intensified pressure on global brands and retailers that buy clothing from factories in Bangladesh to take action to improve worker safety. In November, at least 112 workers died in a fire at the Tazreen Fashions factory, which was producing clothing for Sears, Walmart and other global brands and retailers. Earlier this week, a smaller factory fire killed at least eight people.The accident has intensified pressure on global brands and retailers that buy clothing from factories in Bangladesh to take action to improve worker safety. In November, at least 112 workers died in a fire at the Tazreen Fashions factory, which was producing clothing for Sears, Walmart and other global brands and retailers. Earlier this week, a smaller factory fire killed at least eight people.
The Rana Plaza disaster led to nationwide mourning in Bangladesh as well as outrage because it appears that the accident could have been averted. A day before the collapse, an engineer examined cracks in the structure and warned Mr. Rana, as well as owners of the garment factories, that the building was unsafe and should be closed. Instead, workers were told to come to their factories the next morning, and not long after the shifts began, the building collapsed.The Rana Plaza disaster led to nationwide mourning in Bangladesh as well as outrage because it appears that the accident could have been averted. A day before the collapse, an engineer examined cracks in the structure and warned Mr. Rana, as well as owners of the garment factories, that the building was unsafe and should be closed. Instead, workers were told to come to their factories the next morning, and not long after the shifts began, the building collapsed.

Julfikar Ali Manik reported from Dhaka and Jim Yardley reported from New Delhi.

For now, though, a sliver of joy has been found in the wreckage, with the name of Reshma.

Julfikar Ali Manik reported from Dhaka, and Jim Yardley from New Delhi.