Desperate Bangladeshi children brave flames as they sift through burning heaps of rubbish trying to find items to sell
- Children as young as 12 scale the 200ft-high rubbish mountains on the 40-hectare refuse site in Chittagong
- They pluck out plastic bottles, metal objects, polythene bags, toys, paper and discarded medical equipment
- Photographer Azim Khan Ronnie captured the photographs after spotting the children on the piles of rubbish
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Children bravely sift through burning piles of rubbish to find items to sell in Bangladesh.
The poverty-stricken youngsters, some as young as 12, can be seen scaling the 200ft-high rubbish mountains on the 40-hectare refuse site in Chittagong.
They clutch still-burning items in the hope they can later be sold at a market.
Children bravely sift through burning piles of rubbish to find items to sell in Bangladesh. The poverty-stricken youngsters, some as young as 12, can be seen scaling the 200ft-high rubbish mountains on the 40-hectare refuse site in Chittagong
The dangerous work sees them pluck plastic bottles, metal objects, polythene bags, toys, paper and discarded medical equipment from the dumped waste to earn a living.
They make just £3 to £6 each day despite hours of rummaging through thousands of tonnes of solid waste.
Photographer Azim Khan Ronnie captured the photographs after spotting the children working on top of the heaps – which are set alight in an attempt to shrink them.
The dangerous work sees them pluck plastic bottles, metal objects, polythene bags, toys, paper and discarded medical equipment from the dumped waste to earn a living. Pictured: A girl sifts though rubbish dangerously close to a flame
The 32-year-old, from Dhaka, Bangladesh, said he was surprised how ‘energetic and happy’ many of the children appeared as they managed to find fun in their tough work.
He added: ‘They look for materials like plastic and metal, and toys, which have value in markets.
‘It’s very dangerous for the children because every type of rubbish is dumped here. Medical rubbish is the most dangerous for children.
They make just £3 to £6 each day despite hours of rummaging through thousands of tonnes of solid waste. Pictured: Five children search through the rubbish
‘They collect these things and sell them for money.
‘The children were also playing in the rubbish mountain.
‘I felt terrible taking these pictures. It was very bad, dirty and smelly at the site and it’s a miserable life for these children.’
Photographer Azim Khan Ronnie captured the photographs after spotting the children working on top of the heaps of rubbish – which are set alight in an attempt to shrink them