At least 38 killed in Bangladesh landslides

[June 15, 2010]  COX'S BAZAR, Bangladesh (AP) -- Powerful landslides triggered by heavy rains killed at least 38 people and left seven army soldiers missing in southeastern Bangladesh.

The mudslides struck early Tuesday in two areas in the southern coastal area of Cox's Bazar -- 185 miles (296 kilometers) south of the capital, Dhaka -- and many victims were buried alive as they slept, said Giasuddin Ahmed, chief government administrator in the area.

Ahmed said 19 bodies were initially recovered from landslides in Cox's Bazar.

Fourteen bodies were found later, said A.N.M. Nazim Uddin, another official overseeing the rescue operation in the district's Teknaf area, bordering Myanmar.

Another mudslide in a nearby district killed four members of a family, said police officer Zahirul Hoque by phone. Huge chunks of mud buried the victims' home, he said.

Elsewhere, a 32-year-old woman died in Cox's Bazar town after her thatched house was hit by a rush of mud.

At least seven soldiers were also missing at a makeshift camp, Ahmed said. "We are trying to confirm what has happened there," he told The Associated Press by phone as he headed to the scene.

Desh TV, a Dhaka-based station, reported at least 39 deaths in the disaster. Video footage from ATN Bangla television showed rescuers, mostly villagers, removing mud from buried homes.

Ahmed said the death toll could still rise. Rescue operations were continuing but rains hampered efforts with many main roads inundated.

A depression in the Bay of Bengal caused incessant downpours in the hilly and forested region, causing the landslides.

[Associated Press; By TOFAYEL AHMED]

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