RVISION | UKHIYA, COX’S BAZAR – A tragic series of landslides struck Rohingya refugee camps in Ukhiya early Monday morning, leaving seven people dead and three others injured following a period of persistent, heavy rainfall.
The fatalities occurred in two separate incidents shortly after midnight on Sunday, July 6, amidst continuous downpours that battered the region. Authorities have identified three of the victims as members of the same family, while the identities of the remaining four individuals, as well as the three injured survivors, remain under investigation.
Tragedy at Jamtoli Camp
The first incident occurred in Block D-5 of Jamtoli Camp 15. According to Dollar Tripura, Station Officer of the Ukhiya Fire Service and Civil Defence, a landslide struck a hillside home where six family members were asleep.
Local residents and emergency responders engaged in a desperate search and rescue operation. While bystanders managed to recover one child from the debris before the arrival of authorities, fire service personnel later recovered two more bodies and successfully pulled three survivors from the wreckage. The deceased from this location have been identified as:
- Kamal Hossain (44)
- Humaira Begum (39)
- Mohammad Anos (3)
Separate Incident at Balukhali
In a parallel tragedy occurring around the same time, a second landslide struck Balukhali Camp 11 in Palongkhali Union. Station Officer Dollar Tripura confirmed that four additional people lost their lives in the second slide. By the time Fire Service personnel reached the site, local residents had already recovered the bodies of the four victims.
Monsoon Risks in the Region
The camps in Ukhiya have been experiencing intermittent moderate to heavy rainfall, which intensified significantly throughout Sunday night. The saturated soil, combined with the precarious geography of hillside settlements, has long been identified as a critical risk factor for the refugee population during the monsoon season.
Emergency teams remain on high alert as the heavy rain continues to pose a threat to the stability of the terrain in and around the camps. Further details regarding the identities of the remaining victims are expected as the investigation continues.