One woman and two children were killed in a stampede for unofficial handouts of clothing near a Rohingya refugee camp, reports Al Jazeera quoting aid agencies.
The three people, whose names and ages have not been released, died Friday as supplies were being thrown from relief trucks on the road in the Balukhali Pan Bazar near the Kutupalong refugee camp, the Inter Sector Coordination Group (ISCG) in Bangladesh said.
The deaths are a stark reminder of the desperation in the camps near the border with Myanmar, where an estimated 410,000 refugees have arrived since August 25, more than doubling the existing Rohingya refugee population.
The exodus began after Rohingya militants killed 12 security officials at border posts in Myanmar's Rakhine State, resulting in an intensified government "clearance operation." Amnesty International has accused Myanmar's military of deliberately torching Muslim-minority Rohingya villages near the Bangladesh border in a campaign of "ethnic cleansing." The government says it is targeting terrorists.
Meanwhile, though several well-meaning Bangladeshi citizens have offered their support to the Rohingya, the ISCG said at least six people from the local community who identified themselves as camp managers at another location had been charging refugees for land and shelter.
The perpetrators were arrested and jailed for 15 days, the report said.
ISCG, which comprises various humanitarian agencies, said 326,700 people in makeshift and spontaneous settlements in Bangladesh were in need of emergency shelter.
More than half of the estimated 412,000 Rohingya who have arrived in Bangladesh live in fragile conditions without proper shelter, clean drinking water and sanitation.