At least eight Muslim Rohingya refugees, including children, were killed and others injured in the early hours of Monday following multiple landslides caused by heavy monsoon rains that lashed refugee camps in Cox's Bazar, southeastern Bangladesh.

The Cox's Bazar camps, the world's largest refugee settlement, house over 1.2 million Rohingya, most of whom fled a military crackdown in Myanmar in 2017. They live in temporary shelters made of bamboo and plastic sheets on deforested hills, making them highly vulnerable to landslides during the annual monsoon season.

Authorities said the landslides occurred at four locations within the camps, with mud and debris burying several homes while residents were asleep.

A partial collapse of a hill in Cox's Bazar also killed a Bangladeshi citizen and injured two family members after soil fell on their house.

Cox's Bazar police official Tumpa Das said the death toll had risen to eight as a result of landslides caused by heavy rain, noting that continued rainfall increases the likelihood of more landslides, with thousands of refugees still living in elevated and unstable areas.

Bangladeshi official Mohammad Mizanur Rahman, in charge of Rohingya relief and repatriation, said authorities are working to evacuate residents from the most vulnerable areas as quickly as possible to prevent further casualties.

The disaster comes amid growing fears of a new wave of Rohingya displacement, as renewed clashes in Rakhine State in western Myanmar have prompted Bangladeshi authorities to tighten border surveillance, with reports of people gathering near border crossings attempting to enter the country.

In the same context, the Bangladesh Meteorological Department forecast continued heavy rainfall in the coming days, prompting authorities to maintain a state of alert in anticipation of further landslides and flash floods.

The Rohingya camps annually experience repeated landslides and floods during the monsoon season, resulting in casualties and extensive damage to homes, roads, and infrastructure within the camps.