“I saw a pipe moving around while walking in the area. When I approached the pipe, I heard someone groaning inside. As I laid one of my ears on a hole, I heard the voice of a woman saying ‘save me’, ‘save me’,” said rescue worker Rafique who traced the trapped garment worker first.
Reshma who hails from Ghoraghat upazila of Dinajpur district was a worker of New Wave Bottoms Ltd.
Rescuers pulled her out alive from the rubble of the collapsed building around 4:26pm. Later, she was taken to the Combined Military Hospital, Savar.
Reshma was traced alive and almost unhurt on the basement of the eight-storey building around 3:15 pm to prove the sayings that if God protects, none can destroy and all is possible when miracles happen.
According to rescuers, Reshma spent the hours in the prayer room on the basement. She survived so long taking dry food she took along with her on the fateful day on April 24 when the Rana Plaza came down crashing.
However, the food ran out two days ago and she starved for the last two days. “We first gave her water and biscuits,” Major Moazzem Hossain of Army told reports at the spot.
Later, many of the rescue workers talked to her when she said in a week voice that her name is Reshma.
Soon after she was traced alive, the members of Army and Fire Service stopped the use of heavy equipment and concentrated on rescuing her alive. The rescuers created a hole by a cutter machine to pull her out through it.
People present there also raised their hands in supplication seeking divine blessings for the recovery of the female garment worker alive.
Eyes of the country’s people were also struck on the screens of different private television channels that telecast live the unprecedented event.
After an hour-long successful rescue operation, Reshma was recovered from the rubble around 4:26pm.
State Minister for LGRD and Cooperatives Jahangir Kabir Nanak and General Officer Commanding (GOC) of the Ninth Infantry Division Major General Chowdhury Hasan Sarwardi were present.
After being pulled out of the ruins, Reshma wanted to talk to her sister, Asma, who was present at the spot. Hearing the name in the hand mike, Asma rushed to the ambulance of the Army which took Reshma to the Savar CMH.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina talked to Reshma over mobile phone of the GOC on her way to the Savar CMH.
Later, the Prime Minister visited her at the hospital where doctors said she is out of danger.
