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At least 156 people have died in Bangladesh and neighbouring northeast India after heavy rains triggered a series of landslides and floods.
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Monsoon downpours caused landslides in three hilly districts in southeastern Bangladesh early on Tuesday, killing 100 people in Rangamati, 36 in Chittagong and six in Bandarban, said Reaz Ahmed, the head of the country's department of disaster management.
The dead include four soldiers who had joined the rescue operation.
Hundreds of people were injured and dozens more are still missing.
Ahmed said the landslides were the worst in the country’s history and warned that the death tolls could rise as rescuers reached cut-off areas in search for bodies.
“We have not been able to reach many of the affected places. Once the rains are over, we’ll get a full picture of the damage and get the recovery work in full swing,” he said in a statement to the AFP news agency.
At least 11 people were killed in the floods in major cities of the Indian states of Mizoram and Assam.
India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Twitter that his nation is ready to support Dhaka's search and rescue efforts.
Bangladesh’s monsoon season typically lasts from June to October, bringing storms, floods, and heavy rain that make its southern hillside communities vulnerable to landslides.
Two weeks earlier, Cyclone Mora hit Bangladesh's southeast, killing at least eight people and damaging tens of thousands of homes.
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