Five Rohingya students were killed and eight others injured after a landslide struck a madrasa at a Rohingya camp in Ukhiya, Cox’s Bazar, amid heavy rainfall on Wednesday.
The incident took place around 2:30pm at the Iranian Hill area of Block A-3 in Camp-5, where a section of a hill collapsed onto the Khatijatul Kubra Girls’ Madrasa and Hifzkhana, officials said.
The situation was brought under control around 5:30pm after rescue teams completed the immediate search and rescue operation.
Mohammad Abdur Rouf, Camp-in-Charge (CiC) of Rohingya Camp-5, confirmed the death toll in an official report on Wednesday night.
Earlier, the Ukhiya Upazila Nirbahi Officer had reported eight deaths based on information from local sources.
According to the CiC report, five students were killed in the landslide while eight others are undergoing treatment at different health facilities.
The deceased were identified as Rashida Begum, 13, daughter of Hashim Ullah from Block-11; Ummey Nejat, 13, daughter of Abdus Shukur from Block F-1; Ummey Salma, 12, daughter of Abdus Shukur from Camp-3; Umaisa Bibi, 13, daughter of Mohammad Elias from Block-8; and Shahida, 13, daughter of Shamsu Alam.
Officials said four of the victims died while receiving treatment at hospitals, while one was killed at the scene.
According to the report, Rashida Begum and Umaisa Bibi died at the International Rescue Committee (IRC) hospital in Camp-6, while Ummey Nejat died at GK Hospital in Camp-3.
Ummey Salma and Shahida died at Friendship Hospital in Camp-5 while undergoing treatment.
The injured students were identified as Asra, 9, daughter of Dil Mohammad; Begum Jan, 15, daughter of Nurul Amin; Faresa Bibi, 12, daughter of Bashir Ahmed; Jannat Ara Bibi, 8, daughter of Mohammad Aziz; Nur Fatema, 10; Nur Sehera, 12; Abdul Monaf, 17, son of Imam Hossain; and Nur Kayes, 10, son of Abdus Shukur.
Fire Service and Civil Defence Station Officer Dollar Tripura said around 40 to 50 students were attending classes at the madrasa when a portion of the hill collapsed onto the building.
“Many students were trapped under the debris. Local residents, Rohingya volunteers and fire service personnel launched the rescue operation, and the injured were sent to nearby health facilities,” he said.
However, officials later said the initial estimate of the number of students trapped under the debris could not be independently verified.
Additional DIG Mohammad Siraj Amin, commander of the 14 Armed Police Battalion (APBn) in Ukhiya, said ssoil from the landslide crashed onto the Khatijatul Kubra Girls’ Madrasa in Camp-5.
“Five female students were recovered dead from the site,” he said.
The APBn said injured students were rescued with assistance from local residents and taken to Friendship Hospital in Camp-5. Four students were initially declared dead at the hospital, while others remain under treatment.
Meanwhile, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said a mosque and a madrasa were damaged in the landslide. Children were inside the madrasa when the incident occurred, it said.
Following the accident, Rohingya volunteers, Bangladesh Fire Service and Civil Defence personnel, and mobile medical teams joined rescue and emergency response efforts. Nearby health facilities were kept prepared to provide treatment to possible casualties.
The latest incident has raised the number of people killed in landslides in Cox’s Bazar over the past three days to 17.
At least 13 of them were Rohingya refugees living in camps in Ukhiya.
Earlier on Monday night, 10 people, including women and children, were killed in separate landslides at Rohingya camps No. 7, 11 and 15 in Ukhiya and the Sattarghona area of Cox’s Bazar city following continuous rainfall.
The same day, a seven-year-old child died after a house wall collapsed during a landslide in Pekua upazila.
Assistant Meteorologist Md Abdul Hannan of the Cox’s Bazar Meteorological Office said the district recorded 506 millimetres of rainfall between Sunday and 3pm on Wednesday.
A local cautionary signal No. 3 remains in force at the maritime ports, he added.
