Landslide kills eight at school for Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh

A landslide triggered by heavy monsoon rains at the world's largest Rohingya refugee camp in Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh, killed seven children and their teacher during a school class on Wednesday. Rescuers dug through mud to recover the bodies of the students.

The disaster at the Kutupalong camp, home to over 1.2 million Rohingya refugees who fled Myanmar in 2017, highlights the precarious living conditions. Many refugees reside in basic shelters on hillsides cleared of forests, making the terrain unstable during the monsoon season.

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Unfortunately, four died at the scene, while four others died in hospital.

This incident brings the death toll from rain-related disasters in the area this week to at least 15, with eight people killed in separate landslides on Monday night. Bangladesh's Flood Forecasting and Warning Centre predicts continued torrential rain for the next four days.

Refugee representative Sayed Ullah expressed concern over the lack of coordinated efforts for Rohingya accommodation, which he believes contributes to such accidents. The United Nations describes the situation as "one of the world's largest and most protracted refugee situations."

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We don’t see proper coordination… over the accommodation of the Rohingya, and that is reflected in these accidents.