A massive fire swept through Rohingya Camp No 16 in Ukhiya, Cox’s Bazar, in the early hours of Tuesday, destroying hundreds of shelters along with educational and religious facilities.
The blaze broke out around 3:45am on Tuesday at the D-4 block of the camp, located in the Shafiullah Kata area of Palongkhali Union.
Preliminary reports suggest that a camp resident, Mohammad Anis, had heated water on a gas stove at around 2:45am before falling asleep. The stove remained lit, the water dried up, and a fire broke out, quickly spreading to adjacent shelters.
As the incident occurred late at night, the flames spread rapidly, triggering panic throughout the camp.
Two units of the Ukhiya Fire Service and Civil Defence rushed to the scene and began firefighting operations, assisted by Rohingya volunteers. After nearly two hours of effort, the fire was brought under control at around 5:30am.
Ukhiya Fire Service and Civil Defence Station Officer Dollar Tripura confirmed the incident, saying firefighters responded promptly and managed to contain the blaze with support from volunteers.
Mohammad Riaz, community leader of the D block of Camp No 16, said the fire caused extensive damage. According to him, 448 shelters, two mosques, ten schools and one madrasa were completely destroyed. The extent of the financial losses could not be determined immediately.
Ukhiya Upazila Nirbahi Officer (UNO) Rifat Asma also confirmed the incident, stating that a significant number of shelters and structures were damaged in the fire. An assessment of the total losses is currently underway.
Earlier, on December 26 last year, a major blaze at Camp No 4 destroyed a hospital, while another fire on the night of December 25 damaged more than ten houses at the Kutupalong registered Rohingya camp.
