One person has died and another five have been treated for injuries following a landslide at Bhotey Bhir in Darjeeling District, West Bengal State, India, On Thursday 14 January 2016. The incident happened at about 5.00 pm local time, when a quantity of rocks became detached from a cliff beside the road, falling onto vehicles below. The dead man has been identified as Mukesh Chhetri, 32, a truck driver from Baikuntapally in Siliguri. while the five injured persons were all members of a single family from Majitar near Rangpo in East Sikkim who were traveling to Bhutan in an SUV on a pilgrimage at the time of the incident, all were treated in hospital for what have been described as minor injuries.
The scene of the 14 January 2016 Bhotey Bhir landslide. Darjeeling Times.
The precise cause of the incident have yet to be determined, but it is thought most likely to have been related to road widening work being carried out near the site of the rockfall, in which explosives were being used to blast material from the cliff, the incident happening about 15 m from the site of the blasting and an (unoccupied) works vehicle also being buried by the event.
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