Landslides in Bangladesh kill nine people, including eight Rohingya in a refugee camp | Rohingya news

Hillsides collapsed in four campsites in Cox’s Bazar in south-eastern Bangladesh after heavy rains.

A landslide triggered by heavy rains has killed at least nine people, including eight Rohingya refugees, in southeastern Bangladesh.

The Hillsides collapsed in four areas of the refugee camps in Cox’s Bazar between Sunday and Monday morning, burying shelters under mud and debris where people were sleeping.

Rescuers found seven bodies, while one was found by refugees, Dollar Tripura, an official in the Cox’s Bazar district, told the Associated Press news agency.

Police say a Bangladeshi man has been killed when a mountain fell on his house.

Ali Ahmed, a Rohingya refugee, said his parents and younger brother were killed when their shelter was buried while they were sleeping.

He said: “We fled Myanmar to escape persecution in 2017. Now my family is broken, and I don’t know what will happen to me.

More than a million Rohingya live in overcrowded camps in Cox’s Bazar, the world’s largest refugee camp, after fleeing Myanmar in 2017 following a military crackdown.

Most of the houses and shelters are built of bamboo and plastic sheeting on steep, deforested hillsides, making them prone to landslides and floods during the annual monsoon season. Thirty-six refugees died in similar disasters between 2021 and 2026, according to the United Nations Refugee Agency.

Officials have moved about 1,000 refugees from the landslide-prone mountains and plan to evacuate several thousand more. The weather department has predicted more rain in the coming days.

The resurgence of fighting in Myanmar’s Rakhine State between the army and the Arakan Army has raised concerns that more people may try to flee to Bangladesh.

Bangladeshi authorities are stepping up surveillance amid reports of people gathering near the border.