Fire ravages Rohingya camp in Bangladesh; thousands homeless
A deadly fire destroyed 2,000 shelters at a Rohingya refugee camp in southeastern Bangladesh on March 6, leaving around 12,000
A deadly fire destroyed 2,000 shelters at a Rohingya refugee camp in southeastern Bangladesh on March 6, leaving around 12,000 people homeless, according to official estimates. The fire, which broke out on Sunday afternoon at one of the camps of the world's largest refugee settlements- Kutupalong, rapidly engulfed bamboo and tarpaulin shelters and displaced the Myanmar nationals who have been living under difficult conditions since the military crackdown of 2017.
Published on Mar 06, 2023 04:59 PM IST 8 Photos
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A view of the fire that ravaged Cox Bazar district's Rohingya camp. According to officials, the fire destroyed 2,000 shelters, leaving around 12,000 people homeless, (Ro Yassin Abdumonab / REUTERS)
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Fire officials try to douse the fire that overtook the camp on Sunday. While the blaze was brought under control in less than three hours, it was not clear how the fire started. The authorities have ordered an investigation. (Mahmud Hossain Opu / AP)
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Fires are common in such camps where nearly one million Rohingya refugees live in squalid conditions. Most of them fled a military crackdown in Myanmar's Rakhine state in 2017 and took refuge in Bangladesh. A Bangladesh defence ministry report last month said that between January 2021 and December 2022, there were 222 fire incidents in the Rohingya camps -- including 60 cases of arson, AFP reported. (Mahmud Hossain Opu / AP)
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Rohingya refugee boys seen salvaging a gas cylinder after the fire. At least 35 mosques and 21 learning centres for the refugees were also destroyed, though there were no reports of any injuries or deaths, officials added. (Mahmud Hossain Opu / AP)
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