Heavy overnight rains triggered a series of landslides Tuesday in southeast Bangladesh, killing at least 110 people and injuring many more, officials said.
Rescue workers so far have confirmed 110 deaths, including four members of the army, Reaz Ahmed, director general of the Department of Disaster Management, told CNN.
The highest total, 75 deaths, were reported in the hilly Rangamati district, while 29 died in the port city of Chittagong and six others died in the neighboring Bandarban district, Ahmed said.
The army casualties included two officers and two soldiers who died while taking part in rescue operations.
Rescue efforts were ongoing late Tuesday as many people were still missing, Ahmed said.
“Several hundred rescuers from the Army, Fire Service and Civil Defense, police and local volunteers were searching for people still alive,” he said.
Ahmed said that there was no exact total of the missing in the three districts, but residents feared many people were still unaccounted for.
“We’ve rescued and evacuated around 2,300 people in Rangamati and Bandarban, and they have been taken to safer shelters,” he said.