Landslides and floods kill 156

DHAKA/GUWAHATI: Heavy rains have triggered a series of landslides and floods in Bangladesh and neighbouring north-east India, killing at least 156 people over two days, and officials warned yesterday the toll could rise.

Densely populated Bangladesh is battered by storms, floods and landslides every rainy season. The latest casualties come weeks after Cyclone Mora killed at least seven people and damaged tens of thousands of homes.

Landslides hit three hilly districts in Bangladesh’s south-east early on Tuesday, killing 100 people in Rangamati, 36 in Chittagong and six in Bandarban, said Reaz Ahmed, head of the department of disaster management.

Ahmed said many people were still missing in the landslide-hit districts. The toll, which could rise as more bodies are found, included four soldiers trapped by a landslide during a rescue operation in Rangamati, he added.