Live
play
  • News
    • Middle East
    • Africa
    • Asia
    • US & Canada
    • Latin America
    • Europe
    • Asia Pacific
  • Coronavirus
  • Features
  • Economy
  • Opinion
  • Video
  • More
    • Investigations
    • Interactives
    • In Pictures
    • Climate
    • Science & Technology
    • Sports
    • Podcasts

In Pictures

Gallery

Thousands of Rohingya homes burn as fire sweeps Bangladesh camps

Hundreds of shanties destroyed, leaving thousands homeless, as devastating fire races through sprawling camps in southern Bangladesh.

The aftermath of the fire at the Rohingya refugee camp in Cox's Bazar. [Ro Yassin Abdumonab/Reuters]
The aftermath of the fire at the Rohingya refugee camp in Cox's Bazar. [Ro Yassin Abdumonab/Reuters]
23 Mar 2021
facebooktwitterwhatsapp

A huge blaze that ripped through a sprawling Rohingya refugee camp in Bangladesh has forced at least 50,000 people to flee and left seven people dead, officials and aid workers said, in the biggest fire to hit the shanty settlement to date.

Nearly one million of the persecuted Muslim minority from Myanmar – many of whom fled a military crackdown in their homeland in 2017 – live in cramped and squalid conditions at the camps in the southeastern Cox’s Bazar district.

It is the third fire to hit the camps in four days.

Officials said the latest blaze appeared to have started on Monday in one of the 34 camps – which span about 8,000 acres (3,237 hectares) of land – before spreading to three other camps, with refugees fleeing the shanties with whatever belongings they could carry.

Thick columns of smoke could be seen billowing from blazing shanties in video shared on social media, as hundreds of firefighters and aid workers battled the flames and pulled refugees to safety.

Firefighters brought the blaze under control around midnight, with the Refugees International saying at least 50,000 people fled their shanties as the fire reduced thousands of shelters made of tarp and bamboo to ashes.

“We have learned seven people have died including two children, a woman and four adult men,” Shahdat Hossain, the local fire service chief, told the AFP news agency.

The government’s refugee office and police, however, had yet to confirm any deaths.

“It was the biggest fire since the influx of Rohingya in August 2017. Some 1,500-2,000 shanties were completely gutted,” the government’s deputy chief refugee commissioner Shamsud Douza, told AFP.

Douza said food had been delivered to the displaced refugees and aid workers were trying provide all necessary humanitarian support.

Gazi Salahuddin, a police inspector, said the “fire displaced about 50,000 people who took refuge in the homes of their relatives in other camps”.

Smoke rises following a fire at Rohingya refugee camp in Balukhali. The fire destroyed hundreds of shelters and left thousands homeless. [Shafiqur Rahman/AP Photo]
Smoke rises following a fire at Rohingya refugee camp in Balukhali. The fire destroyed hundreds of shelters and left thousands homeless. [Shafiqur Rahman/AP Photo]
Advertisement
Rohingya refugees salvage their belongings and watch smoke rising following the fire at their camp in Balukhali. [Shafiqur Rahman/AP Photo]
Rohingya refugees salvage their belongings and watch smoke rising following the fire at their camp in Balukhali. [Shafiqur Rahman/AP Photo]
Officials said the latest blaze started in one of the 34 camps before spreading to three other camps, with refugees fleeing the shanties with whatever belongings they could carry. [Reuters]
Officials said the latest blaze started in one of the 34 camps before spreading to three other camps, with refugees fleeing the shanties with whatever belongings they could carry. [Reuters]
"It was the biggest fire since the influx of Rohingya in August 2017. Some 1,500-2,000 shanties were completely gutted," said the government's Deputy Chief Refugee Commissioner Shamsud Douza. [Reuters]
"It was the biggest fire since the influx of Rohingya in August 2017. Some 1,500-2,000 shanties were completely gutted," said the government's Deputy Chief Refugee Commissioner Shamsud Douza. [Reuters]
Fire rips through Balukhali refugee camp in Cox's Bazar. Bangladesh has sheltered more than a million Rohingya, the vast majority of them having fled Myanmar in 2017 in a major crackdown by Myanmar's military. [Rohingya Right Team/Md Arakani via Reuters]
Fire rips through Balukhali refugee camp in Cox's Bazar. Bangladesh has sheltered more than a million Rohingya, the vast majority of them having fled Myanmar in 2017 in a major crackdown by Myanmar's military. [Rohingya Right Team/Md Arakani via Reuters]
The aftermath of the fire at Balukhali refugee camp in Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh. [Rohingya Right Team/Md Arakani via Reuters]
The aftermath of the fire at Balukhali refugee camp in Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh. [Rohingya Right Team/Md Arakani via Reuters]
Advertisement
People clear debris at a Rohingya refugee in Bangladesh. Gazi Salahuddin, a police inspector, said the "fire displaced about 50,000 people who took refuge in the homes of their relatives in other camps". [AFP]
People clear debris at a Rohingya refugee in Bangladesh. Gazi Salahuddin, a police inspector, said the "fire displaced about 50,000 people who took refuge in the homes of their relatives in other camps". [AFP]
Onlookers gather at a Rohingya refugee camp. Rohingya refugees in the camps said many homes were burned down and several people had died, but neither the authorities nor the UNHCR could confirm the number of deaths. The cause of the blaze has not been established. [AFP]
Onlookers gather at a Rohingya refugee camp. Rohingya refugees in the camps said many homes were burned down and several people had died, but neither the authorities nor the UNHCR could confirm the number of deaths. The cause of the blaze has not been established. [AFP]
Rohingya refugees sift through rubble at the site where their shelter has been burned down. [Ro Yassin Abdumonab/Reuters]
Rohingya refugees sift through rubble at the site where their shelter has been burned down. [Ro Yassin Abdumonab/Reuters]

Related

Smoke rises following a fire at the Rohingya refugee camp in Balukhali [Shafiqur Rahman/AP]

Massive fire sweeps through Rohingya refugee camp in Bangladesh

Blaze at Balukhali camp in Cox’s Bazar destroys hundreds of tents, as well as health centres and other facilities.

Bangladesh says the relocation is voluntary, but some among a first group to be moved spoke of being coerced [File: Mahmud Hossain Opu/ Al Jazeera]

UN team visits remote Bangladesh island where Rohingya relocated

Delegation on three-day visit to Bhasan Char island in Bay of Bengal where Bangladesh moved more than 13,000 refugees.

Rahima Kato, a Rohingya woman, displays identity cards of her family members issued by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) at their makeshift camp on the outskirts of Jammu [File: Channi Anand/AP]

Dozens of Rohingya camping outside UNHCR office in India detained

At least 88 Rohingya detained in New Delhi while camping outside UN refugee body’s office in second such move in a week.

More from Gallery

In Pictures: Ash-covered St Vincent braces for more eruptions

Ash and smoke billow as the La Soufriere volcano erupts in Kingstown on the eastern Caribbean island of St Vincent. [Robertson S. Henry/Reuters]

In Pictures: Violence continues at Belfast protests

A protester is seen near a burning car at the 'peace wall' gate into Lanark Way as protests continue in Belfast. [Jason Cairnduff/Reuters]

In Pictures: Vaccine reaches world’s far corners

Health workers Diego Feitosa Ferreira, 28, right, and Clemilton Lopes de Oliveira, 41, leave a home after a resident declined to be vaccinated against the new coronavirus, in the Capacini community, along the Purus River, in the Labrea municipality, Amazonas state, Brazil. [Edmar Barros/AP Photo]

In Pictures: Another grim day of record new COVID cases in India

People wait in a queue to get their swab sample taken to test for COVID-19 at a camp outside the landmark Gateway of India in Mumbai. [Rajanish Kakade/AP Photo]
Most Read

Ukraine turns to Turkey as Russia threatens full-scale war

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan and Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy attend a joint news conference in Istanbul, Turkey, April 10, 2021. Murat Cetinmuhurdar/Presidential Press Office/Handout via REUTERS THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY. NO RESALES. NO ARCHIVES.

South African variant can ‘break through’ Pfizer vaccine: Study

Pfizer-BioNTech said on April 1 its vaccine was about 91-percent effective at preventing COVID-19 [Getty Images]

Chinese vaccines’ effectiveness low, official admits

A healthcare worker shows vials of Sinovac COVID-19 vaccine during a mass vaccination drive in Indonesia [Dedi Sinuhaji/EPA-EFE]

Iran calls blackout at Natanz atomic site ‘nuclear terrorism’

The same nuclear facility was hit by a large blast in July 2020 [File: Raheb Homavandi/Reuters]
  • About
    • About Us
    • Code of Ethics
    • Terms and Conditions
    • EU/EEA Regulatory Notice
    • Privacy Policy
    • Cookie Policy
    • Cookie Preferences
    • Community Guidelines
    • Work for us
    • HR Quality
  • Connect
    • Contact Us
    • Apps
    • Newsletters
    • Channel Finder
    • TV Schedule
    • Podcasts
    • Submit a Tip
  • Our Channels
    • Al Jazeera Arabic
    • Al Jazeera English
    • Al Jazeera Investigative Unit
    • Al Jazeera Mubasher
    • Al Jazeera Documentary
    • Al Jazeera Balkans
    • AJ+
  • Our Network
    • Al Jazeera Centre for Studies
    • Al Jazeera Media Institute
    • Learn Arabic
    • Al Jazeera Centre for Public Liberties & Human Rights
    • Al Jazeera Forum
    • Al Jazeera Hotel Partners
Follow Al Jazeera English:rssinstagramyoutubetwitterfacebook
logo
© 2021 Al Jazeera Media Network