One killed by landslide in Darjeeling

EOI, DARJEELING 22 Aug 2016 A 45-year-old housewife died following a landslide in the Sukhaypokhari block of Darjeeling on Sunday night while two others of the same family were seriously injured in the incident that was triggered by incessant rainfall. The accident occurred around nine in the night at Samrikpani, 32km from Darjeeling.

Indira Rai was killed on the spot while her sister-in-law Rina Mukhia and the latter's 10-year-old daughter Avisna were injured and brought to the district hospital in Darjeeling. Apparently, Indira was chatting with her sister-in-law at the latter’s house, located just a few metres above her house. “We were chatting in the kitchen and my daughter was also present when all of a sudden debris hit my house.

My sister-in-law was injured fatally after getting covered by the debris, but we managed to escape death although we too have been injured,” said Rina.

Miraculously, Rina’s husband Bhim and son Abhisekh, who were sleeping in the next room, were not touched by the landslide. Indira and Rina’s houses are located below the main road at Samrikpani, which is a tea garden area, and were completely damaged. Three more houses in the vicinity were also partially damaged.

Darjeeling district magistrate Anurag Srivastava said, “Yesterday, one person died and two others were injured in a landslide at Samrikpani. Our officials have reached the accident spot to assess the situation." Gorkhaland Territorial Administration Sabhasad Jyoti Kumar Rai, who visited the spot this morning, said, “It was an unfortunate incident and we extend our condolences to the victim and her family.

We are looking into the incident." 

Meanwhile, landslides at Likhubhir on NH-10 have stopped vehicular movement to Sikkim and Kalimpong sub-division from the plains. Multiple spots along the highway were hit by landslides throughout the day. “Landslides occurred at 11 different places along NH-10 due to heavy rainfall last night affecting vehicular movement. We had managed to clear the road by morning but in the afternoon, traffic had to be stopped after mud and debris fell at Likhubhir following another landslide,” said Nirmalaya Gharani, the Kalimpong sub-divisional officer.

After a week-long sunshine, heavy rains hit the hills on Sunday afternoon. According to official records, Darjeeling received the heaviest rainfall at 118.80mm while Kalimpong received 63mm, Kurseong 37mm and Siliguri 18mm in the last 24 hours. (Photo- Facebook)