Fire razes hundreds of homes at Rohingya refugee camp in Bangladesh

A fire tore through a large Rohingya Muslim refugee camp in southern Bangladesh on Thursday, destroying more than 550 shelters.

No casualties have been reported, said the UN's refugee agency (UNHCR).

But officials said the homes destroyed had housed 3,500 people. Around 150 shops were either totally or partially destroyed.

The fire broke out in the early hours of Thursday morning in the Nayapara camp in Cox’s Bazar district, a region where more than one million Rohingya refugees from Myanmar are staying.

Reports say fire services were delayed in arriving at the scene and took two hours to bring the blaze under control.

The cause of the blaze is not yet known.

Videos from the scene show many people searching through the charred remains of the camp to salvage belongings.

Refugees on the ground told Euronews that while some displaced families are now staying with relatives, others have remained because they have nowhere else to go.

The UN agency has said that affected families were being provided with shelter materials and medical care.

“This is another devastating blow for the Rohingya people who have endured unspeakable hardship for years,” said Onno van Manen, Save the Children’s director in Bangladesh.