Landslides and floods caused by heavy monsoon rains killed at least 76 people in southern Bangladesh and rescuers were searching Wednesday for more missing, officials said. Three days of rain had hit the region of small hills and forests, and huge chunks of earth and mud buried flimsy huts where families were sleeping late Tuesday and early Wednesday. Many homeless people live at the foot of the hills or close to them despite warnings from authorities. Monsoon floods are common in Bangladesh, a delta nation of 160 million people. Many of the dead were women and children, and the death toll is likely to rise as rescuers are searching for several missing people, officials were quoted as saying by the Associated Press. An airport in Chittagong was closed for hours Tuesday after floodwater swamped its runway, officials said. It reopened Wednesday after rains stopped.
