Rescuers in India search debris for missing people after landslides kill 24

Stranded people are evacuated using a temporary zip line across a broken bridge after torrential rain triggered multiple landslides in West Bengal (The National Disaster Response Force vis AP)

Rescuers are scouring an area in north-eastern India for those reported missing a day after landslides triggered by heavy downpours killed at least 24 people, officials said.

Teams of Indian army personnel and members of the disaster response force were searching for people who are feared trapped under debris in the tea-growing hill district of Darjeeling, said West Bengal state development minister Udayan Guha.

Downpours and road damage hampered efforts to reach several affected villages, officials said. Television news showed rescue workers using earth movers to clear the debris.

Landslides triggered by intense rain destroyed homes and infrastructure and left hundreds of tourists stranded in Darjeeling over the weekend.

A person is evacuated with the help of a temporary zip line after heavy rain caused landslides (The National Disaster Response Force vis AP)

Rainfall also caused two iron bridges to collapse, West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee said in a post on X.

India’s weather department has forecast heavy rainfall in the region to last until Tuesday.

On Sunday, at least 44 people were killed in Nepal due to mudslides and flooding triggered by severe rainfall. The victims included at least 37 people in the eastern mountain district of Illam, where whole villages were swept away by landslides.

The weekend’s heavy rainfall arrived at the end of Nepal’s monsoon season, which usually begins in June and ends by mid-September.

It also left parts of the capital, Kathmandu, flooded and caused the cancellation of all domestic flights on Saturday.