Papua New Guinea landslide: At least 4 killed, over 300 buried as rescue teams rush to save trapped villagers

At least four people have been killed and more than 300 othersburied after a massive landslide levelled a remote village in northern Papua New Guinea, reported Reuters citing the local media, on Saturday (May 25). The toll is expected to rise ashundreds are feared trapped under the rubble after the landslide struck the region late Friday.

At least four killed, over 300 buried

According to Papua New Guinea Post Courier newspaper, Aimos Akem, a member of the country’s parliament, said that the landslide in the Pacific nation north of Australia buried more than 300 people and 1,182 houses.

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Meanwhile, the Australian Broadcasting Corp (ABC) reported that four bodies had been recovered from the site after emergency teams arrived. The death toll is expected to rise it further said.

A landslide hit Kaokalam village in Enga Province which is around 600 kilometres northwest of the capital of the Papua New Guinea capital city of Port Moresby around 3:00 am (local time), on Friday (May 24).

According to government officials, many villagers were at home asleep at the time of the landslide and did not have time to leave.

Steven Kandai, a community leader at the scene, told news agency AFP,“All of a sudden there was a big landslip. The mountain just collapsed all of a sudden while people were still sleeping." Their homes were “completely buried", he further said.

Search and rescue efforts underway

“At this time, we are still searching for bodies who are buried by the massive landslide,” said community leader Mark Ipuia, as quoted by AFP.

“There are a lot of houses under the debris that cannot be reached,” a United Nations official based in the capital Port Moresby, Serhan Aktoprak, told AFP on Saturday morning, adding that around 3,000 people called the hillside settlement home.

He added, “The land continues to slide and move, and that makes it dangerous for people to operate.”

Prime Minister James Marape, as per Reuters said disaster officials, the Defence Force and the Department of Works and Highways were assisting with relief and recovery efforts.

According to Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT), more than six villages have been impacted by the landslide.

“Australia’s High Commission in Port Moresby is in close contact with PNG authorities for further assessments on the extent of the damage and casualties,” said a DFAT spokesperson, in a statement.

The landslide has since blocked highway access, making helicopters the only way to reach the site, reported ABC News.

AFP citing aid agencies said that the catastrophe had effectively wiped out the village’s livestock, food gardens and sources of clean water.

Images from the site show a massive chunk of the densely vegetated Mount Mungalo was gone, while barefoot workers used shovels, axes and improvised tools to loosen and shift the earth.

Dozens of locals reportedly scrambled over the piles of rock and soil looking for survivors.

(With inputs from agencies)