2 killed in Rangamati landslide

Two people were killed and one injured in a landslide triggered by heavy rain in Rangamati’s Kaptai Upazila yesterday morning.

The dead were identified as Atal Barua, 52, from Chattogram’s Raozan Upazila, and Suihlau Marma, 42, from Karigor Para area in Kaptai. The injured was Aungchahla Marma, 45, from Bandarban.

The incident took place when a 60-foot hilltop collapsed on the Rang-amati-Rajastoli-Bandarban link road around 11:30am, police said quoting locals.

Atal and the caretaker of his fruit orchard Suihlau were waiting for transport in the area. As they signalled a CNG-run auto-rickshaw to stop, the landslide occurred and the two were buried deep into the mud. The CNG driver, however, jumped out of the way in time to survive.

Locals and police searched for the two under the mud to try and rescue them. They were found dead after a 30-minute search, police said. 

Injured Aungchahla Marma said he and three others were in a CNG-run auto-rickshaw, when Atal and Suihlau signalled the CNG to stop. “Just when the driver stopped the vehicle, the huge chunk of Earth collapsed. We all ran quickly, but I injured myself.”

He later took treatment at a dispensary in the area, he said.

Visiting the spot, this correspondent saw about a 100-feet of debris and mud from the landslide on the road. Some vehicles there were buried under mud.

The Rangamati-Rajastoli-Bandarban road was shut off after the incident, said Asharaf Ahmed Rassel, upazila nirbahi officer (UNO) of Kaptai.

Many commuters were seen getting off their vehicles and walking on foot.

Speaking to The Daily Star, Ujjal Das said his was at a tea-stall with some others when they heard someone screaming. When they ran to the spot, they saw that the landslide had just occurred. He then tried to rescue the victims along with other locals and police.

Members of the BGB, with the help of locals, conducted a rescue oper-ation at the spot, said Muhammad Ashraf Uddin, officer-in-charge (OC) of Chandroghona Police Station.

“The two dead bodies were handed over to the families,” he said.

Earlier on July 8, two died in landslide in the upazila’s KPM area. 

Meanwhile in Chattogram city, at least four people, including a child, were injured in two separate landslides triggered by heavy rainfall in the port city yesterday.

The incidents occurred at the city’s Khulshi and Baizid areas.

In Khulshi, the injured were Rehena Begum, 35, and her daughter Nusrat Jahan, 3, from Kushumbag Abashik area.

In Baizid, Musammat Shanu, 40, and Morjina Begum, 18, from Arefin Nagar, were injured in the landslide.

Musammat told The Daily Star that she lives in her shanty at Jhor-nar Mar Khamar of Arefin Nagar on a hill-slope adjacent to Chattogram Cantonment.

“I was cooking lunch when I suddenly heard a loud bang and I fell under mud,” she said, adding that her home was completely flattened in the landslide

Later, a team from the Bangladesh Army from the cantonment, along with fire service, rescued them from the mud, she added.

Jashim Uddin, deputy director of Chattogram Divisional Fire Service and Civil Defence, said they rescued all four victims of the two landslides.

They were sent to CMCH with moderate injuries, he added.

(Our Chattogram correspondent contributed to this report.)