While most of the flooding has occurred in the northeastern states, police said they had pulled 20 bodies from the rubble of a landslide which happened Tuesday in eastern West Bengal state's Darjeeling hill region.

"We fear that more bodies are buried under the debris, as eight people are missing after the landslides," Darjeeling district's police chief Sanjoy Chander told AFP.

He added that heavy rains had triggered fresh landslides in the area but he had no details yet.

Troops were clearing highways blocked by mud and stone left by the landslides, Chander said.

The rain-fed Teesta river had breached its bank and inundated a vast stretch of Jalpaiguri town at the base of the Darjeeling hills, he said.

Flood waters in the area had swept away three people including a teenage girl, he said.

West Bengal Public Works Development Minister Amar Chowdhury said that more than 50,000 people were left homeless when floodwaters submerged 18 tea gardens and a number of villages near Jalpaiguri.

In flooded northeastern Assam state, another two people drowned overnight when their boats capsized in separate places while trying to escape floodwaters, police said.

These deaths bring to 20 the number of people killed in flooding in Assam and the adjoining states of Meghalaya and Tripura.

"We are now in a very critical phase with the main Brahmaputra river showing no signs of relenting and wreaking havoc across the state," Assam's Revenue Minister Mithias Tudu told AFP.

"Up to 1.5 million people in Assam have been hit by the floods spread over 19 of the state's 24 districts so far," he said.

At least 10,000 people have also been displaced in the neighbouring state of Tripura.

The minister said federal soldiers could be moved in Wednesday to some of the worst-affected areas in Assam to assist civil authorities in rescue and relief operations.

"We might also have to seek the help of international aid agencies like the Red Cross soon," Tudu added.

An outbreak of malaria, Japanese encephalitis, and other water-borne diseases in flood-hit areas in Assam have claimed the lives of at least 75 people since the beginning of June.

"We have sent at least 100 medical units to various affected areas to deal with the situation and prevent an epidemic," a state health department official said.

About 400,000 people were displaced in Assam during the first wave of floods in early June. The waters later receded but the latest wave of flooding began on June 27.

"The situation is really very bad in Assam's eastern districts of Dhemaji and Morigaon, as well as western Nalbari, Kamrup and Dhubri districts," Assam Flood Control Minister Nurzamal Sarkar told AFP.

The Brahmaputra River overnight burst its bank at several places in Dhemaji, 460 kilometres (287.5 miles) east of Assams capital Guwahati, washing away a two-kilometre (1.25 mile) stretch of highway.

Heavy monsoon rains have also triggered mudslides in various parts of Arunachal Pradesh state bordering China. Road links to the state capital Itanagar have been snapped for a week.

The floods have also taken a heavy toll on wildlife as at least a dozen endangered wild animals, including rhinos and elephants, were killed while trying to escape the floods in Assam, officials said Wednesday.

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