Over 100 killed in landslide in Papua New Guinea: Report

More than 100 people are believed to have been killed on Friday in a landslide that buried a village in a remote mountainous part of Papua New Guinea and an emergency response is underway the South Pacific island nations leader and news media saidThe landslide hit Kaokalam village in Enga province about 600 kilometers 370 miles northwest of the capital Port Moresby at roughly 3 am Australian Broadcasting Corporation ABC reportedResidents 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 higherPrime Minister James Marape said authorities were responding and he would release information about the destruction and loss of life when it was availableI 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 statementWe 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 addedAustralia a near neighbor and Papua New Guineas most generous provider of foreign aid said the government stood ready to helpWe send our heartfelt sympathies to the people of PNG following the landslide at Kaokalam village Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong posted on social media The loss of life and destruction is devastating she addedAs friends and partners Australia stands ready to assist in relief and recovery effortsVideos on social media showed residents pulling out bodies buried under rocks and treesElizabeth Laruma who runs a womens 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 wayIt 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 its about 100plus people who are buried beneath the groundThe landslide blocked the road between Porgera and the village she said raising concerns about the towns supply of fuel and goodsVillage resident Ninga Role who was away when the landslide struck expects that at least four of his relatives diedThere are some huge stones and plants trees The buildings collapsed Role saidThese things are making it hard to find the bodies she saidBelinda Kora a Port Moresbybased 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 closedPapua New Guinea is a diverse developing nation of mostly subsistence farmers with 800 languages There are few roads outside the larger citiesWith 10 million people it is also the most populous South Pacific nation after Australia which is home to some 27 millionTelecommunications are poor particularly outside Port Moresby where government data show 56 per cent of the nations social media users reside Only 166 million people across the country use the internet and 85 per cent of the population lives in rural areasThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever