Authorities in Bangladesh on Thursday called off the search for bodies following landslides that struck the city of Chittagong earlier this week and said the toll stood at 126.
"We have closed the search operation and no more digging will be carried out," said deputy director of Chittagong's fire brigade Rashedul Isalm Majumder, adding that two more bodies were found on Thursday.
Earlier, an official announced that up to 8,000 people living in city slums at the foot of hills would be re-housed to prevent similar disasters in future. The decision was made at an emergency meeting late Wednesday, said Chittagong chief administrator Mukhlesur Rahman.
The landslides, triggered by heavy monsoon rains, struck early Monday catching victims asleep in their beds. Some homes were completely engulfed by mud. The tragedy has been blamed on the practice of levelling hills for housing despite repeated warnings from experts.
The head of Bangladesh's military-backed interim government, Fakhruddin Ahmed, visited the city on Tuesday and promised steps to put an end to illegal hill clearing.
Minister M.A. Matin said the developers' lust for profits had claimed innocent lives and pledged action to punish the culprits, according to a report by the state-run BSS news agency. "None, whoever he is, would be spared from stern legal consequences if found guilty of cutting hills," the report quoted him as saying.
Scores of people were also seriously hurt in the landslides. Ten people were also killed in lighting strikes in four districts across the country. One more was electrocuted, bringing the death toll from storms and landslides to 137.
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