Dhaka, July 2 (IANS) Twelve people were killed in a landslide in southeastern Bangladesh Friday, Xinhua reported.
The rain-triggered landslide occurred in Chittagong city, about 240 km from Dhaka.
‘We have retrieved 12 bodies,’ fire service official Ruhul Amin said.
A big chunk of earth fell from a hill fell on some thatched houses in the city around 7.00 a.m., he said.
Most of the victims were slum dwellers who built makeshift houses on hill slopes despite warnings from the authorities.
A team from the Bangladesh Army’s engineering and medical corps has joined the rescue operation.
Chittagong City Corporation Mayor Mohammad Monjur Alam after visiting the site told reporters that steps have been taken to shift other shanties in the area to safer places.
Landslides are frequent in the hilly areas of Bangladesh during monsoon, which usually runs from June to September.
In June last year, over 50 people were killed in landslides in the country’s southeastern districts.
