Four of a family buried in landslide in Sylhet

Four members of a family, including husband and wife, died in a landslide triggered by incessant heavy rainfall in Golapganj upazila of Sylhet early Sunday, said the local administration.

The deceased were identified as Riaz Uddin, 50, his wife Rahima Begum, 40, and their children Samia Khatun, 15, and Abbas Uddin, 13, of Bakhtiarghat area in Lakhanaband union under the upazila.

Locals said the family had been living in a pocket of a hillock for long. Due to incessant rainfall a big chunk of the hillock fell on their house, leaving them buried under debris around 2:45 am.

Hearing screams, the neighbours rushed to the spot and tried to rescue them by removing the soil but failed, they said.

Being informed, members from the Fire Service, Army, and police went to the scene and retrieved the bodies around 7am with the help of locals, said acting Upazila Nirbahi Officer (UNO) Faisal Mahmud Fuad.

Officer-in-charge of Golapganj Model Police Station Moniruzzaman said they are in a process to send the bodies to Sylhet MAG Osmani Medical College Hospital morgue for autopsy.

He suspected that the prolonged downpour weakened the structure of the hill and caused the sudden collapse.

The local administration urged people living near vulnerable hillsides to relocate to safer areas to prevent further tragedies.

Following the land collapse, a panic has gripped the locals.