45 killed in Rangamati, Chittagong, Bandarban landslides

A total of 45 people were died in separate incidents of hill-slides triggered by heavy rains in Bandarban, Chittagong and Rangamati districts early Tuesday.

At least, 30 people were died in Rangamati Sadar, nine in Chittagong’s Chandnaish and six others in Bandarban Sadar.

Police warned that the death toll would likely rise as emergency workers reached remote parts of the affected area, where telephone and transport links had been cut.

"The recovery work is still going on," the head of the Department of Disaster Management Reaz Ahmed said. Most of the deaths occurred in two districts, Rangamati and Bandarban, which the meteorological office said had been pounded by heavy rains since early Monday.

Bazlur Rashid, a weather official, said Rangamati had been pounded by 343 millimetres (13.5 inches) of rain on Monday.

"It is still going on today," he said. Heavy monsoon rains also pounded the capital Dhaka and Chittagong, a major port city, disrupting traffic movement for hours.

Syed Tariqul Hasan, superintendent of police (SP) in Rangamati, said the bodies of 10 people have been kept in Sadar Upazila Hospital.

One senior police officer said four soldiers were among the casualties in Rangamati, where a number of tribal communities have been waging a two decades-long insurgency

Source: dailysun