24 May 2024 , 09:27
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More than 100 people have been killed in a landslide that buried a village in a remote, mountainous part of Papua New Guinea.
An emergency response is underway, the South Pacific island nation's leader and news media said. The landslide reportedly hit Kaokalam village in Enga province, about 370 miles northwest of the capital, Port Moresby, at roughly 3 a.m., Australian Broadcasting Corp. reported.
Residents said estimates of the death toll were above 100, although authorities have not confirmed that figure. Villagers said the number of people killed could be much higher.
Prime Minister James Marape said authorities were responding and he would release information about the destruction and loss of life when it was available.
Toppled trees in Maip Mulitaka in Enga, Papua New Guinea (AFP via Getty Images)"I am yet to be fully briefed on the situation. However, I extend my heartfelt condolences to the families of those who lost their lives in the landslide disaster in the early hours of this morning," Marape said in a statement.
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"We are sending in disaster officials, PNG Defense Force, and the Department of Works and Highways to ... start relief work, recovery of bodies, and reconstruction of infrastructure," he added.
Many are feared dead after the freak incident (AFP via Getty Images)Videos on social media showed residents pulling out bodies buried under rocks and trees.
Elizabeth Laruma, who runs a women's business association in Porgera, a town in the same province near the Porgera Gold Mine, said houses were flattened when the side of a mountain gave way.
"It has occurred when people were still asleep in the early hours, and the entire village has gone down," Laruma told the Australian Broadcasting Corp.. "From what I can presume, it's about 100-plus people who are buried beneath the ground."
Papua New Guinea is the most populous South Pacific nation after Australia (AFP via Getty Images)The landslide blocked the road between Porgera and the village, she said, raising concerns about the town's supply of fuel and goods.
Village resident Ninga Role, who was away when the landslide struck, expects that at least four of his relatives died.
"There are some huge stones and plants, trees. The buildings collapsed," Role said. "These things are making it hard to find the bodies."
Belinda Kora, a Port Moresby-based ABC reporter, said helicopters were the only way of accessing the village, which is in the mountainous interior region known as the Highlands, with the main road closed.
Papua New Guinea is a diverse, developing nation of mostly subsistence farmers with 800 languages. There are few roads outside the larger cites.
With 10 million people, it is also the most populous South Pacific nation after Australia, which is home to some 27 million.
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Telecommunications are poor, particularly outside Port Moresby where government data show 56% of the nation's social media users reside. Only 1.66 million people across the country use the internet and 85% of the population lives in rural areas.