Extreme Rains Hit India's Premier Darjeeling Tea Estates

Indian tea pickers: the country is the world's second-largest producer, and third-largest black tea exporter (Credit: AFP)

Torrential rains that triggered deadly landslides and floods in India's Darjeeling region also destroyed swathes of premier tea estates, officials said Tuesday.

The deluge wiped out around five percent of Darjeeling's renowned tea gardens, delivering a heavy blow in a district that has become synonymous with the leaf itself.