Fire in Rohingya camp

The fire at a the Rohingya refugee camp in Cox’s Bazar. Pic/AP

A fire raced through a crammed camp of Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh's southern coastal district of Cox's Bazar, gutting more than 1,000 shelters and leaving thousands homeless, a fire official and the UN said Sunday.

The fire broke out around midnight on Saturday at Kutupalong camp in Ukhiya and spread quickly, fanned by strong winds, Shafiqul Islam, head of the Ukhiya Fire Station said.

"The fire was big, and it destroyed about 1,040 shelters in the camp," he said. Thousands of refugees, including women and children, rushed to a nearby open field with their belongings as the fire started spreading aggressively. It was not immediately clear what started the blaze.

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