A teenage seamstress who survived 17 days trapped under the rubble of a collapsed Bangladesh garment factory walked smiling out of a military hospital on Thursday (June 6) and into a new job in a five-star hotel.

Like many other traumatised survivors, Begum vowed never to return to work in the garment industry, the main employer for millions of poor women from rural Bangladesh.

Accepting a job with Starwood Hotels and Resorts Worldwide's five star Westin Dhaka property, Begum will trade in the monthly wage of 65 U.S. dollars that she used to earn for a basic salary of 450 USD in her new role welcoming guests.

Soldiers pulled Begum from a dark, tomb-like chamber under what remained of the eight-storey Rana Plaza complex on May 10, hours after rescuers found the body of the 1,000th victim of the disaster, one of history's worst industrial accidents.

The final death toll reached 1,129.

Begum apparently survived thanks to a small bottle of water and four packets of biscuits she had taken to work that day.

Presented by Adam Justice