Landslide buries village and probably more than 100 dead

More than 100 people are believed to have died in a landslide that buried a village in a remote region of Papua New Guinea on Friday.

The landslide hit the village of Kaokalam in Enga province, about 370 miles northwest of the South Pacific island nation’s capital, Port Moresby, at about 3 a.m. local time (15:00 GMT), the Australian Broadcasting Corporation reported.

Residents currently believe the death toll is over 100, although authorities have not confirmed this figure. Villagers say the death toll could be much higher.

Videos on social media show locals digging up bodies buried under rocks and trees.

Elizabeth Laruma heads an association of women entrepreneurs in Porgera, a town in the same province near the Porgera gold mine. She said houses in the village were razed when a mountain side gave way.

“It happened when people were still sleeping in the early hours of the morning and the whole village was destroyed,” Ms Laruma told the broadcaster.

“As far as I can tell, there are over 100 people buried underground.”

The landslide has blocked the road between Porgera and the village, she said, raising concerns about the town’s supply of fuel and goods.

Villager Ninga Role, who was not at home at the time of the landslide, believes at least four of his relatives were killed.

“There are huge rocks, plants and trees. The buildings have collapsed,” said Mr Role. “This makes it difficult to find the bodies quickly.”

Sandis Tsaka, Enga provincial administrator, said emergency teams had been dispatched to the area.

“The devastating landslide, described as an unprecedented natural disaster, occurred in the early hours of today… causing significant property damage and loss of life, the extent of which is currently unknown,” he told The Guardian.

Papua New Guinea is a diverse developing country, with a population predominantly made up of subsistence farmers and 800 languages ​​spoken. There are few roads outside of the larger cities.

With 10 million inhabitants, it is also the most populous country in the South Pacific after Australia, where about 27 million people live.