Shahina comes out dead

Rescuers on Monday pulled up the corpse of Shahina Aktar from the debris of Rana Plaza at Savar, more than 24 hours after they had set out to save her life.

Fire Service and Civil Defence Director (Operation) Mahbubur Rahman said her body was retrieved at around 4:15pm.

The rescuers had tried from noon to 10:15pm on Sunday to lift Shahina, a garment worker from Kushtia, alive out of the wreckage.

But as they reached her, rags in the rubbles caught fire from the sparks when a steel rod was being cut. The rescuers had to fall back.

While running out from the debris, one of the fire-fighters as told reporters, crying: "We’ve failed to save her."

There was a wound mark on Shahina’s forehead and she did not die of fire, Rahman said.

Her body was taken to Adhar Chandra High School ground.

The fire erupted at around 10pm in one of the tunnels drilled through the debris of the nine-storey building which collapsed in the morning of Apr 24. But fire-fighters took less than 20 minutes to tame the flames.

After rescuers' attempt to save Shahina failed, use of heavy machinery began on Sunday night to dig through the wreckage.

Rahman said Shahina told the rescuers that her native home is in Kushtia. She also had a child.

Asked whether there was any chance to find any more people alive, he answered in the negative. "There is no possibility to find anyone alive. If there is, it will be an exception."