Eleven die in Rangamati landslides

At least 11 people have died in landslides triggered by torrential rains during the beginning of monsoon in Rangamati’s Naniarchar.

The landslides occurred on Tuesday morning, Quality Chakma, acting chairman of Naniarchar Upazila, told bdnews24.com.

Four of the deceased belonged to two families in Boropul neighbourhood, four of the same family from Dharmacharan Karbari neighbourhood while two died in Hatimara and one in Gilachhari, Chakma said.

Rangamati Deputy Commissioner AKM Mamunur Rashid said they have allocated Tk 20,000 initially for each of the victims’ families.

“We are trying our best to tackle the situation,” he said.

Rangamati Hill District Council Chairman Brisaketu Chakma said they were also offering Tk 10,000 financial help for each of the families. 

The authorities said they have evacuated the hilly areas at risk of landslides and moved hundreds of families to shelters. 

The Met Office recorded 254 millimetres of rain from 6am to 6pm.

On this day a year ago, similar landslides struck Rangamati, killing more than 100 people.

Earlier, Naniarchar Upazila Nirbahi Officer or UNO Abdullah Al Mamun and Abdul Latif, chief of local police station, confirmed the landslides, but not the death toll.

"We could not reach the affected areas as the road became very bad due to landslides. So, it will take some time to get exact information about the number of deaths or missing,” UNO Mamun said.