"Heard Rocks Striking Our House": Survivor Recounts Darjeeling Horror

A community hall is a shelter to over 20 families from Darjeeling's Soureni village which was struck by devastating landslides and floods two days ago. Their homes were destroyed, and many people lost their families. NDTV spoke to a family of four, which survived the horror, but lost of of their relatives in the landslides.

Narrating the nightmare, 57-year-old Tara Chetri said, "It was around 2.30 in the morning, we were asleep. It suddenly felt like a cloudburst. A large piece of stone struck our house. Somehow, I managed to save my life. But my brother and his family died."

Manoj, the youngest member of the family, told NDTV that he woke up after "hearing loud noises of rocks striking" their house. "We alerted the villagers and left for another location. When we returned in the morning, we found our people trapped under the debris. We felt very bad," he said.

Another family member, Munni Chetri, demanded a permanent home from the government. "We lost our loved ones. We could not save anything. We are getting food at their relief camp, but we need permanent land and a home soon. We should be safe," she said.

According to another family member, they have been assured by the government that they would provide a home. "The local administration has assured us that they are locating new land to rehabilitate us, and they are going to help us build our homes. Let's see what happens next. But it will take two to three months," Subrana Chetri said.

The death count in the devastating landslides and floods in northern West Bengal rose to over 30, as disaster management personnel continued the rescue operation, with several people still missing and many tourists stranded in cut-off hill pockets, officials said.