Daily Dispatch

At least 21 dead in Darjeeling landslides after heavy rains

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LANDSLIDES triggered by heavy rain killed at least 21 people across India’s famed tea-growing region of Darjeeling, with more feared trapped under mounds of mud and debris, police said yesterday.

Rescuers were digging through tons of sludge searching for residents after overnight landslides struck homes built on slopes in the towns of Mirik, Kalimpong and Darjeeling in West Bengal state.

“Rescuers have so far dug out 13 bodies in Mirik, five bodies in Kalimpong and three bodies in Darjeeling town,” Darjeeling district police superinten­dent Amit P Javalgi said.

“At least 15 people are missing in Kalimpong,” he told AFP. Javalgi described mud and water barrelling down hills in the worst-hit tourist town of Mirik along with Kalimpong hill station further north.

“We have reports of over 100 houses getting washed away in these two towns and many people were evacuated from the sites,” he said.

“The rush of mud and water tore down everything in its path in Mirik and Kalimpong.”

He said border guards were being deployed to help with the rescue effort which was being hampered by ongoing rains.

“Rescuers are digging through mud and rubble as the landslides buried scores of houses in Mirik and Kalimpong,” he said.

West Bengal police inspector-general Anuj Sharma said from Kolkata he feared “many people” were caught in the landslides which, along with heavy rains, have also cut roads and telephone links.

Photos showed small bridges washed away or destroyed, leaving residents stranded. — AFP

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