A wild elephant went on an hours-long rampage in a town in eastern India on Wednesday, damaging about 100 homes, shops and other buildings, a state minister said.

Photos showed the bewildered animal wandering around Siliguri, about 577km north of Kolkata, crashing into structures, as people scurried out of the way.

Siliguri, gateway to the hill station of Darjeeling, is teeming with elephants and some have been killed by trains while crossing tracks running alongside forests.