Papua New Guinea hit by landslide, 100 feared dead

Melbourne, May 24

More than 100 people are believed to have been killed in a landslide Friday that buried a village in a remote, mountainous part of Papua New Guinea, and an emergency response is underway, officials in the South Pacific island nation said.

The landslide struck Enga province, about 600 kilometers northwest of the capital, Port Moresby, at roughly 3 am, Australian Broadcasting Corp. reported. Residents from surrounding areas said boulders and trees from a collapsed mountainside buried parts of the community.

Residents said estimates of the death toll were above 100, although authorities haven’t confirmed that figure. Some villagers and local media reports said the number of people killed might be much higher, though they did not cite sources. The landslide struck Yambali village sits along a road leading from the capital that is now blocked, hampering relief efforts. — AP