Rohingya Camp Landslide Buries School, Kills 5 Children

At least five children were killed when a Rohingya camp landslide tore through an Islamic school in Bangladesh’s Cox’s Bazar district during monsoon rains, trapping students as classes were underway.

The landslide hit a camp where more than 1 million refugees live, according to ABC International, which carried reporting from The Associated Press. Dollar Tripura, local chief of the Fire Service and Civil Defense, said rescuers pulled out another five injured children and feared more people could still be buried.

Five children killed as Rohingya camp landslide hits Islamic school

The slide swept through the school in southeastern Bangladesh after monsoon rain soaked the camp area. Tripura said the children were attending classes when the ground gave way.

Rescue teams were still working Wednesday evening, according to the ABC/AP report. That matters because the confirmed death toll may not be final. Tripura said rescuers suspected more people could be under the debris.

“Those of us who were on the western side managed to get out, but everyone on the eastern side was buried under the debris,” Begum Jahan, a teacher at the Islamic school, told AP in a later account carried by CNBC TV18.

Jahan said girls at the school were preparing for lessons when part of the building collapsed.

“Some suffered broken arms, and some of the girls lost their lives,” she said.

The latest Rohingya camp landslide came only three days after landslides killed at least eight people at Rohingya camps in the same area. That earlier toll matches the same hazard pattern XOOMAR covered in Bangladesh Landslides Kill 8 Rohingya on Deadly Slopes.

Cox’s Bazar camps are now absorbing repeated monsoon shocks

The key fact is repetition. One deadly landslide would be a disaster. Two rounds in the same area within days show that monsoon conditions are still active and dangerous.

The Dhaka weather office forecast more rain in the coming days. Authorities said they were relocating refugees from at-risk hilly areas, with more than 1,000 people already moved.

That relocation effort is running into a familiar human problem. Officials said refugees are often reluctant to leave their makeshift homes despite warnings. The source does not specify why residents resist moving, so the confirmed point is narrower: warnings have not always translated into immediate departures.

Confirmed pressures now facing the camps:

• Deaths: At least five children were killed in the school landslide.
• Injuries: Another five injured children were rescued, according to Tripura.
• Search risk: Officials suspected more people could be buried.
• Weather: More rain was forecast by the Dhaka weather office.
• Relocation: More than 1,000 people had already been moved from risky hilly areas.

Bangladesh has pushed for years for international help to begin repatriating Rohingya refugees to Myanmar, but that process remains stalled. For families in Cox’s Bazar, the immediate issue is not diplomacy. It is where to sleep safely while the rain continues.

Rescuers and volunteers move from recovery to relocation

CNBC TV18, also citing AP, reported that authorities used loudspeakers and a network of volunteers and community leaders to move people away from risky areas after the deaths. Local residents began rescue work before emergency services reached the scene, Tripura said.

That detail is important. It shows the first response began inside the camp, not only from formal rescue teams. In crowded emergency settings, minutes matter, and the people closest to the debris are often the first to dig.

Analysis: the most urgent constraint is timing. The sources confirm continuing rain risk, ongoing relocation, and reluctance among some refugees to leave shelters. That combination means authorities are not only responding to Wednesday’s landslide, they are trying to prevent the next one from producing another casualty count.

The final toll still needs confirmation. So does the number of people missing, the full condition of the injured children, and how many shelters or school structures were damaged.

For now, the practical watch item is narrow and severe: whether authorities can move more people out of at-risk hilly areas before the next round of monsoon rain hits Cox’s Bazar.

Impact Analysis

• The deaths highlight the extreme vulnerability of Rohingya refugees living on unstable slopes during monsoon season.
• Rescue teams feared the toll could rise because people may still be trapped under debris.
• Repeated deadly landslides in the same camps point to worsening safety risks for more than 1 million refugees in Cox’s Bazar.