Siliguri: Seven people, including two children were on Sunday killed and many others injured in a series of landslides in Darjeeling, leading to blockade of main road link between Siliguri and the hill state, District Magistrate Surendra Gupta said.
Five persons, including three members of a family were killed and over 500 houses damaged in landslide in Kurseong sub-division, Sub-Divisional Officer (SDO) Dybendu Das said.
Sachin Bhujel (40), his wife, Purnima (35) and their daughter, Urvashi (9) died when their house collapsed during a landslide at Gauri Shankar tea garden, the SDO said.
Kala Sherpa (42) and Jaikumar Rai (30) were killed in another landslide at lower Sirubari and Malutar tea garden, Das said.
The SDO of Kalimpong Amiyesh Tshering said a three-year old boy Samuel Lepcha was killed and his parents injured as their house collapsed during landslide.
A 40-year old man Mon Bahadur was swept away while he was crossing a rivulet near Algara last night, Tshering added.
The National Highway number 55 was blocked at many places by falling rocks and boulders and work was on to clear the main road link of Darjeeling, official sources said.
Road communication, in particular, was hard hit as mud and rocks fell on at least 500 spots and heavy rains since yesterday caused around 60 springs to change their courses, Das said over phone.