Tornadoes kill 28 in Bangladesh

Two tornadoes tore through northern Bangladesh, killing at least 28 people, injuring nearly 900 and leaving thousands homeless, officials and news reports said today.

The tornadoes struck late yesterday almost simultaneously, blowing away huts in dozens of farming villages in Gaibandha and Rangpur districts.

At least 25 people, including women and children, were killed and about 800 injured in two areas of Gaibandha district, 120 miles north of capital Dhaka, the local administrator’s office said.

The tornado also flattened 700 mud and straw houses. Rescue teams have been dispatched to the area.

A second tornado swept through neighbouring Rangpur district, killing at least three people and injuring about 100, TV station ATN Bangla reported.

The tornadoes blew away or levelled thousands of trees and electricity poles plunging villages into darkness and hampering rescue work, said Mahbubul Islam, a journalist in Rangpur.

“Many villagers, including children, have suffered cuts and bruises from the collapsing debris,” Islam said after visiting an affected village.

The twisters struck when many villagers were either asleep or preparing to eat dinner.

In Gaibandha, rescuers recovered 18 bodies from the debris of collapsed homes and trees, while seven injured people died en route to hospital, news reports said.

At least 70 victims were in hospital with serious condition with head and chest trauma and other limb injuries, surgeon Habibur Rahman said.

Tropical storms are common in Bangladesh, a delta nation of 140 million people.