Landslide kills four in Chattogram

At least four people, including two siblings, have been killed in two separate landslides in the hilly areas of Barisal Ghona and Foy’s Lake in Chattogram.

The torrential rain triggered the landslides between 1:30 am and 3:00 am on Saturday night.

Uchin Marma, local station leader of Fire Service and Civil Defence, said a landslide took place in Barisal Ghona area around 1:30 am due to incessant downpour. Two siblings – Mainur Akter, 20, and Shahinur Akter, 24 -- were killed after being trapped beneath the wreckage.

Later, police and firefighters went to the spot, recovered their bodies and took them to the Chittagong Medical College Hospital. Their parents survived the landslide, but received injuries, he added.

Reshma Akter, a cousin of the deceased, said the two were sleeping with their babies at their residence on the foot of a heel during the incident. They died in the landslide, but their babies, surprisingly, managed to survive.

In a separate incident, two young men died after being hit by a landslide at Foy’s Lake residential area around 3:00 am.

They have been identified as Liton, 23, and Imon, 24. The firefighters rushed to the spot soon after the landslide took place and retrieved their bodies from the spot, according to the control room of the Fire Service and Civil Defence.

The search and rescue operations were underway until 5:00 am.