Eight Rohingya refugees, including five children, killed in Bangladesh landslides

Dhaka: At least eight Rohingya refugees, including five children, were killed after landslides triggered by heavy monsoon rains swept through refugee camps in eastern Bangladesh, officials said on Tuesday.

The landslides struck several camps in Cox's Bazar district between late Sunday and Monday morning after continuous rainfall loosened soil on surrounding hillsides, causing makeshift shelters to collapse.

Dollar Tripura, a Fire Service and Civil Defence official in Cox's Bazar, said rescue teams recovered seven bodies from the debris, while an eighth victim was found by fellow refugees. Two other children were rescued with injuries.

The landslides affected at least four locations across the refugee camps, burying homes under mud and debris while many residents were asleep.

"All the bodies have been handed over to the families through local refugee leaders and police," Tripura said.

Authorities have begun relocating residents living in high-risk hillside areas, with around 1,000 refugees already moved to safer locations.

The Bangladesh Meteorological Department has forecast further rainfall in the coming days, raising concerns over additional landslides in the overcrowded camps.

According to the UN refugee agency (UNHCR), 36 Rohingya refugees were killed and at least 86 injured in similar landslides across the camps between 2021 and 2026.

Bangladesh currently hosts more than one million Rohingya refugees who fled persecution and violence in neighbouring Myanmar.

Aid agencies have also expressed concern that renewed fighting in Myanmar's Rakhine State between the military junta and the Arakan Army could trigger another wave of Rohingya refugees crossing into Bangladesh.

Visuals of the damage