SAVAR: A Bangladeshi seamstress trapped in the rubble for 17 days after the country's garment factory disaster in April emerged from hospital on Thursday to tell reporters she had recovered "physically and mentally".
Reshma, 18, who became a national heroine after the tragedy, which claimed more than 1,100 lives, was in good spirits and looked healthy at a ceremony at the hospital organised to mark her release.
"I feel great now. I am recovered mentally and physically," she told reporters, smiling and dressed in a peacock green dress and head scarf.
"I never thought that I would get my life back again when I was trapped under the rubble," she added.
Major-General Chowdhury Hasan Suhrawardy confirmed that she had been discharged from the military hospital after nearly a month of treatment following her spectacular rescue on May 10.
After declaring that she would never again work in the garment industry, she is set to take up a job at a luxury hotel in the capital Dhaka.
"We're proud to arrange a job for her at our hotel. We're sure this young girl will be exceptional in her new job," Azim Shah, general manager of the Hotel Westin, told reporters at the ceremony.
