[ad_1]
Hundreds of people are feared dead after a massive landslide struck a remote village in northern Papua New Guinea in the early hours of Friday, flattening dozens of homes and burying families alive, a resident said.
More than 50 houses were buried when the landslide struck Kaukalam village at around 3 a.m., many with people sleeping inside, resident Ninga Role told Reuters by telephone. He said the death toll was close to 300, including his brother and cousin.
The Australian Broadcasting Corporation and other local media reported that the death toll has exceeded 100.
One man turned back to try to save his two children and was buried along with members of his extended family, Rolle said.
Videos posted by Rolle on social media showed people climbing over rocks, uprooted trees and piles of earth in search of survivors. Women could be heard crying in the background.
“It’s almost impossible, the landslide covers a huge area and there are rocks and trees everywhere,” said Rolle.
“It’s very difficult to get them out.”
The village is located in Enga Province, about 600 kilometres (370 miles) north of the capital, Port Moresby.
Prime Minister James Marape said in a statement he had not yet been fully briefed but that authorities were responding to the disaster.
“We are sending disaster relief officials, the Papua New Guinea Defence Force and the Ministry of Works and Highways to Enga provincial capital and district officials to carry out rescue efforts, body recovery and infrastructure reconstruction,” Marape said.
“I will release more information once I have a full understanding of the extent of the damage and the loss of life.”
Papua New Guinea police did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The landslide hit a section of road near the Porgera gold mine, which is operated by Barrick Gold Corp through its joint venture with China’s Zijin Mining Company, Barrick New Guinea Limited.
A Barrick Gold spokesman said: “The extent of the damage is still being assessed, so it is not possible to say at this stage whether there will be any impact on operations at the Porgera gold mine, 100 kilometres away.”
The spokesman added that the Porgera nuclear power plant currently has enough fuel for 40 days of normal operation, and other key supplies are sufficient to operate for longer periods of time.
(Reuters)
[ad_2]
Source link
