RESCUERS have pulled a woman from the rubble of a Bangladesh garment factory 17 days after its collapse.
Her rescue astonished workmen who had been searching for bodies of victims of a disaster that has killed more than 1000 people.
Hundreds of onlookers burst into cheers as army engineers pulled the woman from the basement of the building after a workman helping to clear the wreckage reported hearing faint cries of "save me, save me" from beneath the ruins.
Pale, drawn and seemingly unable to walk, the woman, identified by Bangladeshi media only as Reshma, was hoisted out of the rubble on a stretcher, then loaded into an ambulance in scenes broadcast live on television.
Mohammad Rubel Rana, a workman who had been cutting iron rods, said he had alerted rescue crews after hearing a weak voice.
"I heard a faint voice saying, 'save me, save me'," Rana said. "She was given water, biscuits and oxygen."
Bangladesh's army spokesman Shahinul Islam said: "She has been rescued and taken to a military hospital."
Rescuers speculated that she may have survived by drinking water that had collected in the basement when firemen doused a fire earlier in the rescue effort.
It was not clear if she was one of the thousands of garment workers who had been working in the eight-storey building, which collapsed on April 24, a day after its owner assured factory owners and news crews it would stand for "a century".
The woman was found hours after the death toll from the world's worst industrial accident since the 1984 Bhopal disaster in India climbed above 1000, as rescuers struggled to end the salvage operation.
Bodies were still being pulled from the rubble of the Rana Plaza complex yesterday, and a spokesman at the army control room co-ordinating the operation said the number of people confirmed to have been killed had reached 1045.
A series of deadly incidents at factories have focused global attention on safety standards in Bangladesh's booming garment industry.
The sector, which accounts for 80% of Bangladesh's exports, was rocked by a blaze in November that killed 112 people. Eight workers were killed in another factory fire this week, which an industry association said may have been started deliberately.
About 2500 people were rescued from Rana Plaza, in the industrial suburb of Savar, 20 miles north-west of Dhaka, but there is no official estimate of the numbers still missing.
The disaster, believed to have been triggered when generators were started up during a blackout, has put the spotlight on western retailers who use the impoverished south Asian country as a source of cheap labour.
Nine people have been arrested in connection with the disaster, including the building's owner and bosses of the factories it housed.
Hundreds of relatives, some holding up photographs of family members, remained at the site.
Rescue workers have found it increasingly difficult to identify bodies due to their decomposition and are relying on identity cards or mobile phones found on them. "A total of 156 unidentified victims have been buried," said Dhaka District Administrator Mohammad Yousuf Harun.
He added that DNA samples taken from the bodies had been preserved so tests could be done if relatives come forward later.
The government has accused the owners and builders of using shoddy construction materials for the complex, including substandard rods, bricks and cement, and failing to obtain the necessary clearances for construction.
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