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| Miraculous rescue lifts spirits after Bangladesh building collapse - Los Angeles Times Posted: 10 May 2013 07:54 AM PDT NEW DELHI -- In a development described as miraculous, a woman emerged alive Friday from the rubble of a collapsed building 17 days after it pancaked just outside the capital of Bangladesh. In an interview from her hospital bed, the survivor, a seamstress identified with the single name of Reshma by local media, told a Bangladesh television station that she stayed alive by eating dried food -- which ran out after 15 days -- and drinking sparingly from bottles of water she had around her in the wreckage of the Rana Plaza building. More than 1,000 bodies have been pulled from the wreckage of the illegally constructed structure that housed five garment factories. The disaster has focused a global spotlight on the often-dismal conditions of workers in poor countries making apparel for Western consumers. Photos: Bangladesh building collapse But on Friday, when the remains of at least 73 more victims were discovered, the televised rescue helped boost the spirits of the battered nation. The unexpected rescue took place when a worker walking through the rubble reportedly heard a cry and saw a hand waving amid the debris. "As we were clearing rubble, we called out if anyone was alive," an unnamed rescuer told the local Somoy TV channel. "Then we heard her saying, 'Please save me, please save me.' Since then she has been talking to us." The survivor was immediately given water and cookies as the army ordered bulldozer and crane operators to halt their cleanup work and the rescue unfolded live on local television. Using a handsaw, welding and drilling equipment, a handful of workers in orange jumpsuits struggled to cut through iron rods and other debris as an ambulance and oxygen cylinder remained on standby. When the woman was freed about 40 minutes later, a loud cheer erupted from rescue workers and military personnel on scene, many of whom prayed and raised their arms in triumph. Video showed her dressed in a purple outfit and pink scarf, her hair tied back, being carried conscious into an ambulance on a stretcher as rescue workers placed an oxygen mask on her face. "She is in good health," army Maj. Moazzem Hossain told reporters. Reports said the woman worked on the building's third floor. "I heard voices of the rescue workers for the past several days," she told Somoy reporters. "I kept hitting the wreckage with sticks and rods just to attract their attention." "No one heard me," she added. "It was so bad for me. I never dreamed I'd see the daylight again." Maj. Gen. Chowdhury Hasan Suhrawardy, supervisor of the local military units assisting in the rescue, said Reshma told him that three other people with her had died. "We will continue our search until a survivor or a dead body is there," he said, according to the Associated Press. While more than 2,500 people have been rescued, mostly in the hours immediately after the collapse, crews have now pulled over 1,040 bodies from the wreckage. It is the worst industrial accident in the impoverished nation's history and by some accounts the world's deadliest garment industry disaster. "This rescue is definitely great, everyone's amazed," said Rashna Imam, an attorney based in Dhaka. "But the downside is everyone will be hoping there are more survivors there." ALSO:Women's prayer at Western Wall sparks protest Bombs, bullets and baby steps toward democracy in Pakistan Did Chinese film director Zhang Yimou illegally father 7 children? Tanvi Sharma in the New Delhi bureau contributed to this report. |
| Spire Permanently Installed on WTC Tower - ABC News Posted: 10 May 2013 07:58 AM PDT A tall, heavy spire was fully installed atop One World Trade Center on Friday, bringing the New York City structure to its symbolic height of 1,776 feet. Loud applause and cries of joy erupted from construction workers assembled below as the huge, silver spire was gently lowered and secured into place. "It's a pretty awesome feeling," Juan Estevez said from a temporary platform on the roof of the tower where he and other workers watched the milestone. "It's a culmination of a tremendous amount of team work ... rebuilding the New York City skyline once again," said Estevez, a project manager for Tishman Construction. He said the workers around him were "utterly overjoyed." Installation of the 408-foot, 758-ton spire was completed after pieces of it had been transported to the roof of the building last week. It will serve as a world-class broadcast antenna and also as a beacon to ward off aircraft. The building is at the northwest corner of the site where the twin World Trade Center towers were destroyed in the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. The 72-story 4 World Trade Center is under construction at the southeast corner of the site. Lee Ielpi, whose firefighter son died after responding to the attacks, watched workers secure the spire from his office at the nearby 9/11 Tribute Center, which he co-founded. "The building looks spectacular. ... I'm looking forward to the day when the cranes come down and they light the spire at night," he said. "It's supposed to be a very moving experience." The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which owns the site, said the LED-powered light would be activated in the next few months. "It's going to have a light that you can see from tens of miles away," said Port Authority Vice Chairman Scott Rechler. "And that light will change colors and in the next few months we are going to be activating that light, and it will be a beacon of hope just like the Statue of Liberty." The addition of the spire, and its raising of the building's height to 1,776 feet, makes One World Trade Center the tallest structure in the U.S. and third-tallest in the world, although building experts dispute whether the spire is actually an antenna — a crucial distinction in measuring the building's height. If it didn't have the spire, One World Trade Center would be shorter than the Willis Tower in Chicago, which stands at 1,451 feet and currently has the title of tallest building in the U.S., not including its own antennas. The Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat, a Chicago-based organization considered an authority on such records, says an antenna is something simply added to the top of a tower that can be removed. By contrast, a spire is something that is part of the building's architectural design. The tower is slated to open for business in 2014. Tenants include the magazine publisher Conde Nast, the government's General Services Administration and Vantone Holdings China Center, which will provide business space for international companies. ——— Associated Press Writer Karen Matthews contributed to this report. |
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