The bodies of four women and children were placed side-by-side on the floor of a small room under a tarpaulin roof, covered with blankets and towels.
Several men and women stood nearby, looking at the bodies. A woman standing in the crowd while weeping said, "They all went to sleep together last night. They never woke up."
The family had fled Myanmar about a year and a half ago to escape shelling and gunfire by the Arakan Army, only to lose their lives in a landslide at the Balukhali Rohingya camp in Cox's Bazar.
This Monday morning at the Balukhali refugee camp in Ukhiya, Cox's Bazar, was filled with grief and panic after heavy rainfall triggered landslides that killed eight people in three Rohingya camps. The incidents occurred at four locations in the Balukhali, Kutupalong and Jamtoli camps between 1:00am and 3:00am.
Among them, four members of a single family died in the Balukhali camp alone. The deceased are Rohingya Abdur Razzaq's two daughters, Umme Habiba (27) and Tanjina Akter (13); and Umme Habiba's two sons, Md. Rihan (5) and Harunur Rashid (3).
Upon visiting the Balukhali camp this morning, it was seen that 10–15 houses in the C-11 block of the camp were destroyed by landslides. The houses had been built at the foothills and on the slopes. Heavy rain loosened the soil on the hills, burying the houses.
Even after fire service rescue workers conducted operations in the morning, signs of destruction still remain there.
Rohingya community leader Kamal Ahmad was at the scene. He stated that after the accident, the male members of the household, including Abdur Razzaq, could not be found. His two daughters and two grandsons have died. Their bodies have been recovered.
Kamal Ahmad said Abdur Razzaq's home is in Shikdarpara of Rakhine State, Myanmar. Suffering persecution by the occupying Arakan Army, he fled with his family across the Naf River to Teknaf a year and a half ago. From there, he entered the Balukhali refugee camp in Ukhiya and stayed in the homes of other Rohingyas for a few days.
Failing to receive officially allocated shelter, Razzaq's two daughters settled in a tarpaulin-covered shack under a hill in block C-11 of the Balukhali refugee camp. Around 3:30 AM last night, four people, including the two daughters, died in the landslide. Despite fleeing to save their lives, they could not survive.
At least 70,000 Rohingya from Rakhine State have been staying in the Balukhali refugee camp, built by cutting into the hills, for the past nine years. Most of the settlements are located on the slopes of the hills, constructed with bamboo, wood and tarpaulin covers.
In the last one and a half years, at least five thousand more Rohingya have found a place to stay in this camp. Most of these Rohingya are living in overcrowded conditions in the homes of their relatives.
Another 150,000 newly arrived Rohingya are staying in various refugee camps, including Kutupalong, Madhurchara and Lombashia in Ukhiya, as well as Nayapara, Jadimura and Shalbagan in Teknaf. Many Rohingyas, failing to be allocated housing in the refugee camps, are settling in risky locations on the hills.
Syed Nur, a Rohingya leader from the Madhurchara refugee camp, said that heavy rainfall has been occurring since yesterday morning. As a result, large cracks are appearing in the hills. Rainwater is entering those cracks, causing the soil to collapse. Rohingya settlements are being damaged as they get buried by landslide debris along with the current of runoff water coming down from the hills.
Dollar Tripura, an official from the Ukhiya Fire Service and Civil Defence station, said that at least eight Rohingyas, including women and children, died in multiple landslide incidents in the Balukhali, Kutupalong and Jamshia refugee camps in Ukhiya between 1:00 AM and 3:30 AM on Sunday night. Two others were injured. Among them, besides the four women and children of one family in the Balukhali refugee camp, Rohingya Kamal Hossain (44), his wife Humaira Begum (39) and their son Mohammad Anas (4) were killed in a landslide incident at the D-6 block of the Jamtoli refugee camp (Camp-15).
Rohingya leader Aktar Kamal said that around 1:30 AM, a chunk of the hill collapsed due to heavy rain in the Jamtoli refugee camp and buried Kamal Hossain’s house. Everyone in the family was asleep at the time. Local Rohingyas removed the soil and recovered the bodies of three members of the same family. Two more members of the family were injured and have been admitted to the hospital.
Around 2:00 AM, another child named Md. Ekram (7) died in a separate landslide incident at block D-7 in the Kutupalong refugee camp (Camp-7). He was the son of Rohingya Rashid Ullah of that camp.
Additionally, fatalities due to landslides have also occurred in Cox's Bazar city. A man named Ali Akbar died in a landslide incident in the Chattarghona area of Pahartali in the city early this morning. Two members of his family were injured.
In the 24 hours until 12:00 PM today, 267 millimeters of rainfall were recorded in Cox's Bazar. Stating that heavy rainfall may continue for two more days, Abdul Hannan, assistant meteorologist of the Cox's Bazar Meteorological Department, said that due to the heavy rain, there is a risk of landslides in Cox's Bazar city and surrounding hills alongside the refugee camps.
Stating that Rohingyas living in risky positions on the hills of the refugee camps are being moved to safe places, the Refugee Relief and Repatriation Commissioner (RRRC) and Additional Secretary Mohammad Mizanur Rahman said that landslides are occurring in the refugee camps as a result of heavy rainfall. The death of eight Rohingyas, including women and children, in multiple landslide incidents in a single night is tragic.
Among the deceased, one family arrived a year and a half ago, though it had not been possible to allocate them a house.
Mohammad Mizanur Rahman said that at least one thousand Rohingyas at extreme risk in the refugee camps have already been moved to safe places. Several thousand more will be relocated depending on the situation. Awareness campaigns are being conducted in the refugee camps to prevent loss of life.