The devastating fire at the Rohingya refugee camp in Bangladesh damaged at least 2,000 houses and directly affected 22,000 camp residents, said a media report of Dhaka Tribune.

The fire is believed to have originated from a kitchen gas cylinder at the camp in Cox's Bazar's Ukhiya township which is close to Burma’s Maungdaw town.

The incident took place at Balukhali refugee camp number 11 at around 2:40 pm on Sunday. The fire soon spread to camps numbers 9, 10, and 12.

"The fire started from a house in camp no 11. Some ten firefighting units arrived on the spot to douse the fire,” said Cox's Bazar refugee relief and repatriation commissioner Mohammed Mizanur Rahman, while talking to Dhaka Tribune.

He also added that every house in the camp has a gas cylinder. Due to the explosion of some gas cylinders, the fire spread quickly. Some 2,000 houses in these camps were completely burnt and 22,000 residents were affected by the fire.

Atish Chakma, deputy assistant director of Cox's Bazar fire service, informed that the fire was brought under control at 6 pm. After three hours, ten firefighting units successfully doused it.

Palangkhali UP of Ukhia chairman Gafur Uddin Chowdhury revealed that some of the Rohingyas whose houses were burnt have taken shelter in their relatives’ houses.

“We have made arrangements for the rest of the homeless Rohingya people temporarily in some schools and madrasas,” added the chairman.

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) reported that over 90 units including hospitals and learning centres were also damaged in the fire. The Rohingya safety unit volunteers, fire fighters and the local authorities promptly contained the fire by 5 pm.