Darjeeling, 5 Oct

Just 12 hours of unrelenting rain was all it took to transform the once-tranquil Darjeeling hills into a landscape of wreckage.

At least 20 people, including several children, were killed and scores injured as rain unleashed massive landslides across Mirik and Darjeeling hills in West Bengal on Sunday, sweeping away homes, severing road links, isolating villages, and leaving hundreds of tourists stranded.

The mist-covered slopes of Darjeeling, also known as "Queen of the Hills", now echo only with the smell of wet earth, the noise of rescue vehicles, and the distant rumble of landslides.

From the flattened hamlets of Sukhiapokhri to the half-buried roads near Mirik, the worst-hit zone, survivors have begun the painful process of clearing the debris.

Mud-streaked faces, soot-blackened utensils, torn school bags and broken teacups lie scattered- silent testimonies of a night when the mountain turned against its own.

"We have seen floods and storms, but never this," said Pema Bhutia, a 58-year-old tea worker from Mirik, standing before what used to be her home.

"Everything happened in minutes. The hill just came down, like a wave of earth."

In the narrow lanes of Darjeeling town, army trucks and disaster response teams move through the fog, their headlights cutting through the thick air.

Excavators claw at the mud, while volunteers form human chains to pass food packets and water bottles to stranded families.

For many, it is the third sleepless night.

"We have not gone home since Saturday. Some of us lost friends in the slide," said Rohit Chhetri, a member of the civil defence team working near Teesta Bazar.

"The ground is still unstable, but we can't stop. People are waiting," he said.

At a local school, now converted into a relief camp, nearly 300 displaced people have put up.

A group of young volunteers from a local NGO serve steaming rice and lentils from large aluminium pots.

"The road to Sukhiapokhri is still blocked, and many villages remain cut off. We are using drones to assess damage. We are ensuring food and supplies reach them," a district official said.

Tourists who had come for a post-Durga Puja getaway remain stranded in hotels. Some have volunteered to help rescuers.

"We couldn't just sit and watch. The locals have been so kind to us. This is the least we can do," said Anjali Das, a tourist from Howrah helping pack relief kits.

At the Chowrasta Mall, shops remain closed. Students from a local college sweeped the streets and collected donations. Monks from a nearby monastery distributed biscuits and milk to children.

"This town has suffered, but it always comes back. In 1968, hundreds died. In 2015, we buried friends. Every time the hill falls, we rise again," said Karma Sherpa, a 63-year-old taxi driver who has ferried relief workers since Sunday morning.

As the night descended, the drizzle returned, tapping softly on tin roofs patched with plastic sheets.

"We found a child alive this morning under the debris. That gives us the strength to keep digging," said a rescue worker.

In the dim light, the people of Darjeeling wait for the skies to clear, for the roads to open, for the mountain to forgive.