Tragic boulder accident claims two lives in Darjeeling's Goke

DARJEELING, : A 27-year-old man, Pranil Yogi, and six-year-old Samanta Limbu were killed instantly when a large boulder fell on them at Lower Goke in the Darjeeling–Pulbazaar block on Wednesday.

“The incident occurred around 4 pm yesterday. It had been raining continuously for two days, and there was no drinking water at home. Samanta's aunt asked Pranil to accompany her to the water source to fix the pipe. He asked her to stay back because it was a difficult task, but she insisted on going. Samanta forcefully followed her mother,” said UdayLimbu, uncle of both victims.

After the rain eased around 3 pm, they went to the spring water source located below a large landslide zone in Goke. “While they were fixing the pipe, a massive boulder, loosened by the continuous rainfall, came crashing down and struck them,” Limbu added.

Samanta’s mother, who was standing a short distance away, was unharmed.

Pranil, originally from Singell in Kurseong, had been living in Goke for the past few years. The bodies were brought to Darjeeling for postmortem today.

Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA) chief executive AnitThapa expressed sorrow over the tragedy. “It is a sad incident that should not have happened. We will meet the family and see what support can be provided,” he said.

Thapa pointed to unchecked excavation and construction during the monsoon season as a major cause of landslides. “People are making demands to leaders, and digging is being done, but then it’s left incomplete due to the rains. There needs to be a proper policy in place, formulated in consultation with the district administration,” he added.