Over 100 feared dead by a landslide in Papua New Guinea

The landslide reportedly hit Kaokalam Village in Enga Province, about 600 km northwest of the South Pacific island nation's capital of Port Moresby early Friday.

Published - May 24, 2024 10:57 am IST - Melbourne

People gather at the site of a landslide in Maip Mulitaka in Papua New Guinea’s Enga Province on May 24, 2024.

People gather at the site of a landslide in Maip Mulitaka in Papua New Guinea’s Enga Province on May 24, 2024. | Photo Credit: AFP

More than 100 people are believed to have been killed Friday, May 24, 2024, in a landslide in a remote part of Papua New Guinea, Australian Broadcasting Corp. reported.

Also read: Can large landslides be remotely detected in real-time?

The landslide reportedly hit Kaokalam Village in Enga Province, about 600 km northwest of the South Pacific island nation's capital of Port Moresby, at roughly 3 am local time, ABC reported.

Residents say current estimates of the death toll are above 100, although authorities have not confirmed this figure. Villagers said the number of people killed could be much higher.

Social media video show locals pulling out buried bodies

The Papua New Guinea government and police did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Friday.

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 also the most populous South Pacific nation after Australia, which is home to 27 million.

0 / 0
Sign in to unlock member-only benefits!
  • Access 10 free stories every month
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign-up/manage your newsletter subscriptions with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early access to discounts & offers on our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.

We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.