Reshma Begum, 19, escaped on foot from the crushing nine-story building and was hospitalized the very same day according to a new bombshell claim made by former colleague.
AP Reshma Begum, 19, lies on a stretcher after surviving 17 days beneath the rubble of a factory building that collapsed near Dhaka, Bangladesh, last April, claims now being called a hoax.
The miracle rescue of a Bangladesh seamstress who survived 17 days trapped beneath her collapsed factory's rubble is now being declared a hoax by a former colleague and survivor.
Reshma Begum, 19, escaped on foot from the crushing nine-story building and was hospitalized the very same day that April, according to bombshell claims made to the British newspaper, the Sunday Mirror.
"We escaped together. We both walked away from the rubble," the former Rana Plaza worker who allegedly worked with Begum said.
"We spent two days in hospital but then she vanished. The next time I saw her was on TV 17 days later. They said it was a miracle. But it was a fake."
That colleague, who wished to remain anonymous, has since gone into hiding for their own protection from government ramifications, the paper reports.
In the heartwrenching days that followed the April 24 catastrophe that killed 1,221 people, a woman that was buried alive beneath the rubble caught the burning hope, prayers and attention of millions around the world.
But mystery and suspicions have since swelled with revelations that in the day before her rescue, neighbors within sight of the horrific scene were forcibly evacuated from their homes without a reason given. The next day they were allowed to return home.
A 24-hour ban on filming the area by the press was also imposed just before her recovery.
Once authorities went in to retrieve the 19-year-old from the tons of debris that had allegedly fallen over her, cameras were allowed to roll once more, broadcasting the miraculous sight to the world.
Her brightly colored scarf and dress were photographed clean and her face only minimally dusted in white debris.
Her eyes came of particular notice with them seen wide open and without any apparent discomfort to the bright lights after pulled from what was described as a pitch-black tomb.
Begum said she survived off very little water and four packets of biscuits. Witnesses at the scene said she wasn't seen once treated for dehydration.
Begum's landlady also told the Mirror that Begum was treated at the nearby Enam hospital in the day of its collapse.
Those suspecting the rescue having been a hoax accuse the government of trying to distract the public's attention away from unsafe conditions within their garment factories which contribute to 80 percent of the country's exports.
April's catastrophe also came just five months after a fire in another garment factory killed more than 100.
President Obama, responding to these ongoing catastrophes Thursday, announced the suspension of U.S. trade privileges for Bangladesh because of concerns over labor rights and worker safety.
Still, any claims against Begum's harrowing tooth-and-nail survival were vehemently denied by the teen herself in a press conference last week.
"Where I was, you were not there. So you have no idea," Begum bit back at those accusing her rescue as being a hoax after being awarded a high-paying position as ambassador to a five-star Dhaka hotel.
STR/AFP/Getty Images Begum is seen recovering at Savar Cantonment Hospital on May 13, where she vowed never to work in the garment industry again before this month taking a lucrative posistion at a hotel.
Appearing fresh-faced beneath a green scarf and a paper sash for her hotel across her chest, Begum has gone from earning just $65 per month making jeans to $450 — an astonishing future approximately 10 times the average salary.
Her family, mutually defending her daring 17-day rescue, says it's just another reason to be proud of her.
"Her escape IS the miracle everyone thinks it is," her mother Jobeda told the Mirror from her home in Rani Ganj, a remote village approximately 300 miles west of the country's capital of Dhaka.
On the day of the factory's collapse Jobeda said she traveled to Dhaka with her husband and prayed for their daughter at the scene of the collapse.
Seventeen days later when an announcement was made on a loudspeaker revealing her daughter's name as still alive and trapped beneath the ruins, the mother said she collapsed from shock.
"I fainted. When I came round, people took me to the hospital to see her. She was awake and spoke to us. She told us she was happy," her mother told the paper of the moment she was reunited with her daughter.
She described her as having a few scratches on her arms, but overall OK.
She credits the Army for looking after her.
Responding to a request for comment by the Mirror Saturday, Army spokesman Lieutenant Commander Nure Alam Siddique said: "We have no comment to make."
Reshma Begum, 19, escaped on foot from the crushing nine-story building and was hospitalized the very same day that April, according to bombshell claims made to the British newspaper, the Sunday Mirror.
"We escaped together. We both walked away from the rubble," the former Rana Plaza worker who allegedly worked with Begum said.
"We spent two days in hospital but then she vanished. The next time I saw her was on TV 17 days later. They said it was a miracle. But it was a fake."
That colleague, who wished to remain anonymous, has since gone into hiding for their own protection from government ramifications, the paper reports.
AP Begum was found in remarkable condition and wasn't immediately seen suffering dehydration despite claiming to have only little water and four packets of biscuits while trapped.
But mystery and suspicions have since swelled with revelations that in the day before her rescue, neighbors within sight of the horrific scene were forcibly evacuated from their homes without a reason given. The next day they were allowed to return home.
A 24-hour ban on filming the area by the press was also imposed just before her recovery.
Once authorities went in to retrieve the 19-year-old from the tons of debris that had allegedly fallen over her, cameras were allowed to roll once more, broadcasting the miraculous sight to the world.
STRINGER/BANGLADESH/REUTERS More than 1,200 people were killed when the nine-story factory collapsed in April but a former work colleague and survivor now says they ecaped the collapse with Begum the day it went down.
Her eyes came of particular notice with them seen wide open and without any apparent discomfort to the bright lights after pulled from what was described as a pitch-black tomb.
Begum said she survived off very little water and four packets of biscuits. Witnesses at the scene said she wasn't seen once treated for dehydration.
Begum's landlady also told the Mirror that Begum was treated at the nearby Enam hospital in the day of its collapse.
Those suspecting the rescue having been a hoax accuse the government of trying to distract the public's attention away from unsafe conditions within their garment factories which contribute to 80 percent of the country's exports.
MUNIR UZ ZAMAN/AFP/Getty Images Some skeptics believe the 19-year-old's miracle rescue was staged to distract the attention from the workers' unsafe conditions.
April's catastrophe also came just five months after a fire in another garment factory killed more than 100.
President Obama, responding to these ongoing catastrophes Thursday, announced the suspension of U.S. trade privileges for Bangladesh because of concerns over labor rights and worker safety.
Still, any claims against Begum's harrowing tooth-and-nail survival were vehemently denied by the teen herself in a press conference last week.
"Where I was, you were not there. So you have no idea," Begum bit back at those accusing her rescue as being a hoax after being awarded a high-paying position as ambassador to a five-star Dhaka hotel.
STR/AFP/Getty Images Begum is seen recovering at Savar Cantonment Hospital on May 13, where she vowed never to work in the garment industry again before this month taking a lucrative posistion at a hotel.Her family, mutually defending her daring 17-day rescue, says it's just another reason to be proud of her.
"Her escape IS the miracle everyone thinks it is," her mother Jobeda told the Mirror from her home in Rani Ganj, a remote village approximately 300 miles west of the country's capital of Dhaka.
On the day of the factory's collapse Jobeda said she traveled to Dhaka with her husband and prayed for their daughter at the scene of the collapse.
A.M. Ahad/AP Seen June 6, Begum left a hospital to start her new job with an international hotel chain while vehemently denying claims that her 17-day near-death ordeal was a hoax.
"I fainted. When I came round, people took me to the hospital to see her. She was awake and spoke to us. She told us she was happy," her mother told the paper of the moment she was reunited with her daughter.
She described her as having a few scratches on her arms, but overall OK.
She credits the Army for looking after her.
Responding to a request for comment by the Mirror Saturday, Army spokesman Lieutenant Commander Nure Alam Siddique said: "We have no comment to make."
