Dhaka survivor pulled from wreckage after 17-day ordeal

A young woman is recovering in hospital after being freed from the wreckage of a collapsed building in the Bangladeshi capital 17 days ago.

The 19-year-old factory worker, identified only as Reshma, was found on the second floor as heavy machinery was being moving in to demolish the building.

Rescuers described how they heard Reshmaa yelling "please save me" and stopped the bulldozers to mount a rescue attempt.

The disaster at the Rana Plaza building in Dhaka has claimed the lives of more than 1,000 people, many of them female workers in a series of garment factories.

ITV News correspondent Nina Nannar reports:

A cheer rose from the crowd of onlookers when rescue workers, after a tense 45 minutes, finally pulled Reshma's body free from the wreckage.

A spokesman for Bangladesh's army, Shahinul Islam, said she was taken to a military hospital where she is recovering well.

Speaking from her hospital bed, Reshma is reported by the Associated Press to have said: "I never dreamed I'd see the daylight again."

She reportedly survived on dried food and bottled water for 15 days, but ran out of food during the last two days.

More than 2,500 people were rescued in the immediate aftermath of the disaster, but no survivors have been found since 28 April.

On the last occasion, a worker named Shahin Akter was found alive only to die after a fire broke out during the rescue effort.

Read: Trapped woman 'killed by fire' started by rescue effort