The death toll of rain-triggered devastating disasters of the last few days in Bangladesh's three southeastern hilly districts rose to 105, as rescuers retrieved dozen more bodies Thursday, officials said.

Local official says the flood is the worst natural disaster in Bangladesh in years. [Chinanews.com]

They said most of the deaths were caused by landslides, others by wall collapses, lightning strikes and floods.

Heavy rains swept through Bangladesh's three southeastern districts -- Chittagong, Cox's Bazaar and Bandarban, triggering huge landslides and floods during the last few days.

Faiz Ahmed, administration chief of Chittagong district, some 242 km southeast of capital Dhaka, told Xinhua over mobile phone Thursday, "with recovery of 12 more bodies, the number of death toll in the district rose to 32 from 20 until Wednesday evening."

As the overall flood situation has improved in southeastern Chittagong, flights resumed at the country's second important Shah Amanat International Airport in the port city on Thursday morning after a suspension of nearly 37 hours.

Functioning at the country's premier Chittagong seaport has also become normal after rain-triggered floods submerged almost two-thirds of the city and snapped its rail communication with the rest of the country, said senior port official Sayed Farhaduddin Ahmed.

Flood caused by the incessant rain that inundated many areas and disrupted communications in the country's Cox's Bazaar district, famous for the world' s longest natural sandy sea beach, also improved Thursday, said Selim Jahangir, the district's police chief.

He said, "the death toll from landslides, floods and lightning strikes rose to 36 in Cox's Bazar, some 391 km southeast of capital Dhaka, after rescuers recovered one more body on Thursday morning."

In the incidents of two other devastating landslides in the southeastern Bandarban district, some 316 km southeast of capital Dhaka, the rescuers have retrieved 37 bodies including one on Thursday, said Kamrul Ahsan, the district's police chief.

He said, "devastating landslides killed 28 people including 11 from the same family in the district's Lama area while nine more persons including six of another family were buried alive in Naikhongchhari."

There are no further reports of casualties or injuries from the district's hilly area that is hard to reach, he said.

Rain-triggered landslides are almost frequent in Bangladesh's hilly areas during the heavy monsoon that usually runs from June to September. Despite frequent tragic incidents of landslide about tens of thousands of people of the impoverished South Asian nation are still reportedly living at the foothills and hill-slopes at different parts of hilly districts.

At least 49 people including five army personnel were killed in devastating landslides caused by heavy rains in Cox's Bazaar and Bandarban in June 15, 2010. Earlier in June 2007, some 123 people were killed in a devastating landslide in Chittagong.

Related

• Torrential rain brings landslide in SW China
• 71 killed in Afghanistan landslide
• Landslide kills at least 70 in N Afghanistan
• Dozens feared dead in Afghan quake-triggered landslide

Go to Forum >>0 Comment(s)