Two women including a mother and a daughter were killed in a mudslide in Chittagong early Sunday, following a heavy overnight downpour.
The incident occurred at the Tankir Pahar area of Lalkhan Bazar in Chittagong around 5:30am.
Fatema Begum, aged 35, and Kulsum Begum, aged 15, worked for the local Four H Garment factory and lived in a semi-pucca house at the Akbar’s Colony.
The accident was the latest addition to the long list of deaths caused by hill-slope erosion during monsoon in the port city.
An eyewitness, who was a victim of the mudslide and was rescued later, gave a graphic account of the tragedy.
Shahnaj Akhter, a tea seller living next door to the victims, told the Dhaka Tribune she was inside her hut and making breakfasts around 5:15am, when she heard the sound of heavy objects falling nearby.
She dashed out and saw a large chunk of earth made of mud and rocks coming downhill.
“I came out and saw a large mass of mud falling on the roof of Fatema’s residence. They were sleeping inside.”
“I was literally petrified. My first reaction was to shout for help and I did. I heard them scream and writhe inside the house. Fatema was shouting ‘save us, save us.’
“She managed to say that a couple of times before another mass of mud fell over them and silenced them. There was no more sounds afterward,” said Shahnaj, in tears.
Soon Shahnaj herself was also trapped under muds but was fortunate enough to have averted a fatal injury.
Later, locals together with fire service officials recovered Shahnaj and the two dead bodies from under the debris.
Akbar, who owns the colony, couldn’t be found immediately for comments. His family members, however, claimed he had been admitted to hospital with illness.
Jasim Uddin, a deputy assistant director of Fire Service and Civil Defence Headquarters of Chittagong, said the erosion was a result of heavy overnight rain.
There was another colony uphill, owned by a traffic policeman named Belayet, around 20 feet above the ground where the deceased mother and daughter resided.
“The large chunks of mud came down from that colony and killed the two women. The entire area is at risk now. The same incident can happen again if preventive measures, such as evacuating those in danger, are not taken,” he said.
After the incident, Additional Deputy Commissioner (revenue) of Chittagong MAH Humayun Kabir and city mayor M Manjur Alam visited the spot.
Humayun Kabir said the district administration had already ordered hill-slope residents to evacuate the area and settle in safer places.
“We will take measures in this regard, but people should be aware of the perils associated to living on the slopes,” he said.
In this regard, Manjur Alam, the mayor, told the Dhaka Tribune: “We are working to rehabilitate the people living in risky hill areas in the port city.”
The district administration has announced a condolence fund of Tk40,000 to be handed over to the relatives of the deceased, sources said.
According to locals, Akbar’s Colony was built 25 years ago. In 1995, four people died in mudslide in the same area where Fatema and his daughter lived and died on Sunday.
At least 180 people were killed in mudslide in Chittagong in the last seven years. Of them, 127 people died on June 11, 2007 – the largest death toll from mudslide in Bangladesh.
According to Chittagong district administration, there are 13 risky hills in the city and about 5000 families living there.
Recently, the administration temporarily rehabilitated about 200 hill families in different playgrounds in the city.
