DHAKA: At least two people have been killed in a rain-triggered landslide as a monsoon left parts of south-eastern Bangladesh submerged, officials said on Monday.
A 4-year-old child and a 25-year-old woman died after their thatched houses were buried under mud from an adjacent hill in Chandraghona, said Mamunir Rashid, chief administrator of Rangamati district.
Local government official Anawarul Islam Chowdhury said rescuers dug the bodies out of the mud and debris.
He said the victims stayed at their hillside homes, ignoring a warning issued by the local administration.
Bangladesh’s meteorological department recorded 170 millimeters of rainfall in Rangamati district in the last 24 hours through Monday morning. It forecast more rain across the South Asian country until Tuesday.
Television footage showed major thoroughfares in the south-eastern port city of Chattogram under knee-to-waist-deep waters, causing havoc for commuters.
Deaths from mudslides during the monsoon are common in Bangladesh. More than 150 people were killed in a series of rain-triggered landslides in the southern hilly districts of Chittagong, Rangamati and Bandarban in June 2017. — dpa
Oman Observer is now on the WhatsApp channel. Click here
