By DPA
Dhaka : The death toll in landslides caused by heavy rains in southern Bangladesh climbed to 126 Thursday while flash floods rendered 15,000 homeless, officials said.
Rescue workers dug up seven more bodies from the debris in the southern port city of Chittagong, which was rocked by deadly landslides earlier in the week.
The latest recovery of bodies raises the overnight total of landslide deaths from 119 to 126, the officials said. Tropical thunderstorms also dumped heavy rains on the lush rice terraces and vegetable farms.
Over 70,000 people across five districts in the northeastern Sylhet region abandoned their fragile homes and moved into shelters.
The landslides crushed scores of shanty homes built with mud and bamboo at the foothills as housing for construction workers.