Rangamati hill district is one of the worst affected areas. Photo: EPA

Dhaka, Bangladesh (BBN) – At least 130 people, including four army personnel, have been killed in a landslide caused by heavy rain in three hill districts of southeastern Bangladesh.
The death toll may rise further, according to officials.
In Rangamati, 98 people died in most affected district and 77 people were injured, a district relief and rehabilitation officer said.
The victims include at least 39 women and 22 children.
Besides, 26 casualties were reported in Chittagong, the country’s prime port city, while six more people died in Bandarban district, according to an official count.
Of the 26 deaths in Chittagong, at least 22 people died in Rangunia upazila alone while the rest in Chandanaish. Ten of the victims are children and five are women, according to reports.
The June 2007 landslides in the port city claimed at least 127 lives.
The districts of southeastern Bangladesh often suffer the effects of monsoon and tropical cyclones at this time of year, which has often resulted in catastrophes that have claimed a great deal of lives, despite government attempts to regulate the construction and placement of homes.

BBN/SSR/AD