Bangladesh collapse survivor leaves hospital

Reshma Begum, who survived for 17 days in the rubble of a collapsed garment factory, had vowed never again to work in a garment factory

June 06, 2013 12:22 pm | Updated November 16, 2021 08:24 pm IST - SAVAR, Bangladesh

Reshma Begum, centre, the 19-year-old seamstress who spent 17 days trapped in the rubble of a collapsed factory building, sitting in a wheelchair, meets the media at a hospital in Savar, near Dhaka, Bangladesh, on May 13, 2013.

Reshma Begum, centre, the 19-year-old seamstress who spent 17 days trapped in the rubble of a collapsed factory building, sitting in a wheelchair, meets the media at a hospital in Savar, near Dhaka, Bangladesh, on May 13, 2013.

A 19-year-old seamstress who survived for 17 days in the rubble of a collapsed garment factory building left the hospital on Thursday with a new job at an international hotel chain.

Reshma Begum had vowed never again to work in a garment factory after she was rescued from the wreckage of the eight-story Rana Plaza building, where 1,129 people were killed in April in the world’s worst garment industry disaster.

Ms. Begum, whose tale of survival in a wide pocket beneath the debris has made her a celebrity in Bangladesh, fielded job offers from many companies before accepting work at the Westin Hotel in Dhaka, said the local military chief overseeing her care. Hotel officials said she would work in the housekeeping department and talk to guests, but they did not elaborate on her responsibilities.

Authorities at the military hospital where Ms. Begum was treated said she was fully recovered. “I am OK now, doing fine. I am grateful to everybody,” she said on Thursday. Ms. Begum survived in the refuge beneath the rubble by rationing out biscuits and water she had with her.

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