2 ‘soil lifting syndicate’ members die, another injured from being crushed under soil in Cox’s Bazar

Two alleged members of a "soil lifting syndicate" were killed and another injured critically after being crushed under the soil while they were illegally razing from a hill with a vehicle at Lot Ukhiarghona area of ​​Kawarkhop union in Ramu upazila of Cox's Bazar last night.

The deceased are Mujibur Rahman (40) and Ali Ahmed (29), while the injured was identified as Rafiqul Islam (38). The trio were residents of Lot Ukhiarghona, reports our correspondent quoting KM Ajmiruzzaman, officer-in-charge of Ramu police station.

Quoting locals, the OC said seven persons including Mujibur and Ali Ahmed went to Lot Ukhiarghona area along with a vehicle last night to raze hill illegally.

At one point of razing the hill, a big chunk of soil fell on them, leaving Mujiur and Ali Ahmed died on the spot while Rafiqul received serious injuries, police said.

The other four workers fled the scene after the incident, the OC said, adding that on information they recovered the bodies and sent them to Cox's Bazar Zila Sadar Hospital for autopsy.

OC Ajmiruzzaman said they primarily gleaned that the deceased were members of a soil lifting syndicate.