The thunderstorms that pummelled Bangladesh over two days pushed the death toll to 43 on Saturday after rescuers dug out 27 more bodies from under the rubble of flattened homes and uprooted trees, officials said.
Fire-brigade rescue teams and local Red Crescent volunteers cleared debris that was blocking access roads to reach storm-battered remote villages in the worst-affected northern Rangpur region.
Local officials said at least 11 people were killed in Rangpur in the unbroken spell of stormy weather, which had also struck scores of towns and villages in the central and southern parts of the country, leaving about 500 injured.
Earlier reports put the death toll at 16 in Thursday’s tropical storms and twisters, which had wrecked more than 400 villages with powerful whirlwinds smashing mud-walled dwellings and leaving about 50 000 people homeless.
”The storms have left a trail of ruined homes, fallen trees and demolished bridges,” said Abdul Aleem, a civil defence rescuer in southern Barisal district.
Among the dead were at least seven people killed in a tornado that struck an industrial town on the outskirts of the capital, Dhaka, on Thursday.
The twister first hit a field in Tongi town where Muslim religious volunteers were putting up tents for an upcoming assembly of Islamic worshippers.
The powerful tornado then tore through factories, shops and homes in the town about 18km north of the capital.
All the seven victims were identified by police as Islamic volunteers who were helping the authorities in the preparations for holding the assembly.
Witnesses said most tornado victims were wounded by flying debris as the winds uprooted trees and electric poles and disrupted telephone links and ferry services. — Sapa-DPA