The situation was still unclear even hours after the accident: the local news site Loop PNG even spoke of six buried villages.
According to the New Zealand broadcaster RNZ, up to 3,000 people lived in the area. In the worst case scenario, the number of victims could be much higher. Local media described the landslide as an “unprecedented natural disaster.”
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The landslide hit the village of Kaokalam in northern Papua New Guinea, about 600 kilometers northwest of the capital Port Moresby. According to media reports, the remote village was razed to the ground and more than 1,100 houses were buried.
Search for survivors
A villager posted images on social media of people climbing over rocks, uprooted trees and mounds of earth to search for survivors, with women crying in the background.
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The accident occurred on Friday night at around 3 a.m. (local time). “It happened early in the morning when people were still sleeping, and the whole village is destroyed,” said Elizabeth Laruma, chairwoman of a local women’s association. “As far as I can tell, at least 100 people are buried underground.”
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Image: STR (AFP)
Source: Nachrichten
