A four-year-old girl was killed and her father seriously injured after a mud wall collapsed during heavy rain and thunderstorms in Mymensingh’s Bhaluka on Sunday morning.
The child, Ayesha Akter, died after being trapped beneath the collapsed wall at her maternal grandfather’s home in Dhitpur village. Her father, Chhiddik Mia, was injured in the incident and was taken to Bhaluka Upazila Health Complex for treatment.
Ayesha was the daughter of Chhiddik Mia, a resident of Kaichan village in Bhaluka. The family said Chhiddik had travelled to Dhitpur with his daughter two days earlier to visit his father-in-law, Momtaz Ali.
On Sunday morning, heavy rain accompanied by repeated and intense thunderstorms affected several parts of Bhaluka. At the time, Chhiddik and Ayesha were inside a mud-built room at Momtaz Ali’s house.
According to local residents and police, a particularly loud thunderclap caused the structure to shake. Shortly afterwards, one of the room’s mud walls suddenly gave way and fell on the father and daughter.
Ayesha was buried beneath the debris and died at the scene. Her father also became trapped and suffered serious injuries.
Hearing their cries, neighbours rushed to the house and began removing the fallen earth and debris by hand. They eventually rescued both victims, but Ayesha was found dead. Chhiddik was taken to Bhaluka Upazila Health Complex, where he received medical attention.
The incident highlights the risks faced by families living in vulnerable structures during periods of heavy rain. Mud-built walls can become weakened when exposed to prolonged moisture, while poorly maintained or already unstable sections of a building may be particularly susceptible to collapse. During severe weather, residents are generally advised to move away from visibly weakened walls and other unstable parts of a structure where possible.
Police visited the scene after receiving information about the accident and took the necessary legal steps.
Additional Superintendent of Police Abdullah Al Mamun confirmed that Ayesha had died after the mud wall collapsed, while her father was injured. He said police had gone to the scene and initiated the required procedures.
The family subsequently submitted a request for the child’s body to be released without a post-mortem examination. Police said permission was granted for the burial without an autopsy in accordance with the family’s request and applicable legal procedures. As the family had raised no complaint or objection concerning the incident, the authorities allowed the burial to proceed.
For the family, what began as a routine visit to relatives ended in tragedy within moments. The sudden collapse during the storm claimed the life of a young child and left her father injured, casting a pall of grief over the two villages connected to the family.
