More than 100 people are thought to have been killed in a landslide in remote Papua New Guinea, with fears the toll could soar.
The landslide reportedly hit Kaokalam Village in Enga Province, about 600 kilometres north-west of the South Pacific island nation’s capital Port Moresby, about 3am on Friday (local time), ABC TV is reporting.
Provincial governor Peter Ipatas has told Agence France-Presse that a big landslide has caused “loss of life and property”.
Residents say estimates of the death toll sit above 100, although authorities have not confirmed this figure. Villagers say the number of those killed could be much higher.
Elizabeth Laruma, the president of the Porgera Women in Business Association, said the disaster occurred when everyone was asleep.
“The entire village has gone down,” she told the ABC.
“From what I can presume, it’s about 100-plus people who are buried beneath the ground.”
Social media video show locals pulling out buried bodies. One photo appears to show part of a cliff that has apparently broken off and slid down a hill.
Another local said the landslide had cut off the area, making it more difficult to send in help or food and other supplies.
The village is near the Porgera Gold Mine. It is PNG’s second-largest gold mine and reopened last December after being closed for four years.
Media in the Pacific island nation said the landslide had affected the operations of the mine, which is run by Barrick Gold through Barrick Niugini, its joint venture with China’s Zijin Mining.
Barrick Gold did not immediately respond to a request for comment outside business hours.
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