Bangladesh landslides, rain kill 35 people

DHAKA, June 11 (Reuters) Rain and landslides have killed at least 35 people in Bangladesh as early monsoon showers swept the country, officials said today.

Heavy rains triggered landslides that buried hillside homes, killing 22 people with several missing today in the port city of Chittagong, police and witnesses said.

Thunder storms killed 13 people elsewhere in the country, including five in western Jhenaidah district alone, local officials told reporters.

The landslide deaths in Chittagong included five from one family, they said.

Some bodies were still trapped under tonnes of rubble and police and volunteers were struggling to retrieve them. Police said several people were injured and taken to hospitals.

The army and fire fighters have been called out to help, but flood roads were an obstacle, a witness said.

Police said landslides hit four areas in Chittagong. Most shops were closed and residents were stranded by waist-high water in some areas.

Weather officials said heavy rains at the onset of the annual monsoon season have paralysed much of Bangladesh since yesterday morning, and raised fears of flash floods in low-lying areas.

They expect showers to continue for several days more.

The weather office said the monsoon, which began on Friday and will last until mid-September, was unusually active under the influence of a sea storm in the Bay of Bengal.

Large areas along the Bangladesh coasts have been submerged under three to four feet of water due to a moderate tidal surge triggered by the storm, officials said on Monday.

Ports in Chittagong, Mongla and Cox's Bazar have been asked to hoist warning signals as the storm could gather more strength and hit the shores, meteorologists said.

Some of the railway tracks between Chittagong and the capital Dhaka were also under water, although trains were still running with caution. Flights between Dhaka and Chittagong have been suspended due to rough weather, aviation officials said.

Work at the country's main Chittagong port has been partially disrupted, port officials said.

Reuters SKB VP1332