A massive fire broke out at a Rohingya refugee camp in Ukhiya upazila of Cox's Bazar, late at night, destroying around 400 homes. Firefighters managed to bring the blaze under control after nearly four hours of effort.
The fire occurred at around 3:00 am on Monday at Rohingya Camp No. 16 in the Shafiullah Kata area of Palongkhali Union under Ukhiya upazila.
Ukhiya Fire Service and Civil Defence Station Officer Dollar Tripura said, “Two fire service units rushed to the scene immediately after receiving the alert and began rescue and firefighting operations. After nearly four hours, the fire was brought under control. Preliminary assessments suggest the fire may have originated from a cooking stove, though the exact cause is still under investigation.”
According to local residents and fire service sources, the fire initially broke out at a learning centre in Block D-4 of the camp and quickly spread to adjacent shelters and sheds.
Rohingya community leader Nur Mohammad informed that many families lost all their belongings in the fire and were forced to spend the night under the open sky.
It is worth noting that incidents of fire in Rohingya camps have been increasing at an alarming rate in recent times. On December 26, a hospital in Camp No. 4 was destroyed by fire. Earlier, on the night of December 25, more than 10 homes were damaged in a fire at the Kutupalong registered camp. Repeated fire incidents have raised growing concerns over the safety and fire-prevention measures in the camps.
Bd-pratidin English/ ANI
