Darjeeling, Oct 5 (PTI) 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

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