Rescuers find two bodies, two alive, one still missing

Rescuers have found the bodies of two workers and two others alive after five were trapped under mud in a landslide on a hill at Ghumdhum in Bandarban's Naikkhyangchharhi Upazila, reports bdnews24.com.

The search for the other worker continued on Monday evening, Ghumdhum police camp in-charge Emon Chowdhury said.

The five workers were constructing a sewage canal on the property of Shupayan Barua, when the landslide occurred around Monday noon in the Monjoypara area, said Ghumdhum Union Parishad Chairman Jahangir Aziz.

Locals rushed to the area and rescued one of them, Noor Mohammad, 22, alive. He was admitted to Cox's Bazar General Hospital.

Later, Fire Service, Border Guard Bangladesh and local administration took charge of the rescue operation.

Naikkhyangchharhi Upazila Executive Officer or UNO Sarwar Kamal and other top officials of the local administration and police visited the scene.

Naikkhyangchharhi Police Station OC Alamgir Sheikh said the rescuers pulled Nurul Hakim, 25, alive from the mud around 5:30pm. He was taken to a hospital in Ukhiya.

Additional Deputy Commissioner of Bandarban Mofidul Alam said they would form a committee to investigate the incident.

He said they were conducting drives against risky housing on the hill slopes in the district.

"We will relocate the people from these risky areas to safer places," he added.

Locals said light rains might have triggered the landslide as the crew were working by the side of a hill.

During the monsoon last year, at least 120 people died in landslides triggered by heavy rains in the hilly districts of Rangamati, Bandarban, Khagrachharhi and Chattogram.

Landslides are also feared this year, with over a million Rohingya refugees taking shelter in hillside camps in Cox's Bazar.

Around an hour later, the bodies of Md Abu Ahmed, 25, and Jasim Uddin, 18, were found.

There was no trace of female worker Sona Meher, 35, until the evening, police official Emon said.

Earlier, UP chairman Aziz said they feared the four trapped workers might be dead.