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Landslides in Bangladesh kill six Rohingyas, forces thousands to flee

WION Web Team
Cox's Bazar, BangladeshUpdated: Jul 29, 2021, 08:02 PM IST
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Photograph:(Reuters)

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Days of heavy rain caused the landslides, and Rohingya families had to be relocated to camps to ensure their safety

Officials said Tuesday at least six Rohingya were killed and thousands more were relocated to refugee camps in Bangladesh's southeast after heavy rains triggered landslides and flooding in hilly settlements.

A piece of a hill crushed bamboo and tarpaulin shanties of Rohingya families in the Balukhali camp, killing five including three children, refugee commissioner Shah Rezwan Hayat said.

He added that all the streams in the camps were raging due to flash floods and that another Rohingya child drowned in a nearby stream in the Palongkhali refugee camp.

The landslides were caused by days of heavy rain. Several Rohingya families have also been relocated within camps to ensure their safety, he said adding that two injured people have been sent to nearby hospitals.

In August 2017, 740,000 Rohingya fled their homes in Rakhine state, escaping a brutal clampdown by Myanmar security forces.

Cox's Bazar, the district bordering Myanmar in Bangladesh's southeastern region, is home to nearly one million of these Rohingya living in overcrowded camps.

The monsoon season is always a risky time of year for thousands of these refugees, especially those who live in valleys inside the 7,000-acre (2,832-hectare) settlements.

The deaths of two refugees were caused by separate landslides during heavy rain last month.

(With inputs from agencies)