The death toll in the Rohingya refugee camp fire that took place late on Monday has gone up to 15. Another 400 are still missing and 560 are injured, said the UN Refugee agency on Tuesday
The UNHCR said that it is rushing to provide critical support and protection to some 45,000 Rohingya refugees who lost their shelter and belongings in the devastating fire. At least 10,000 shelters are estimated to have been destroyed or damaged but the figures are expected to climb in the coming days as assessments continue.
A massive fire swept through the Rohingya refugee camp at Uikhya in Cox’s Bazar area of Bangladesh on Monday rendering thousands of people homeless. The started at the Balukhali camp in Cox’s Bazar late on Monday. As the fire erupted, people from the camp started running with their belongings recovered from their homes in the refugee camp.
Witnesses said that barbed fencing around the camp prevented people from escaping the fire causing casualties, reports Reuters.The fire at the Cox’s Bazar refugee camp was the third in the last few days. Bangladeshi officials have started investigating the cause of the massive fire. The refugee camps at Cox’s Bazar area of Bangladesh accommodate over a million Rohingyas who fled the military crackdown in the Rakhine province of Myanmar in 2017.