PORT MORESBY, 24th May, 2024 (WAM) -- Hundreds are feared dead after a massive landslide levelled dozens of homes and buried families alive in a remote village in northern Papua New Guinea early on Friday, Reuters quoted residents as saying.
More than 50 homes, many with people still asleep inside, were buried when the landslide hit Kaokalam village after midnight, a villager told Reuters. The death toll was nearly 300, among them his brother and cousin, he said.
The Australian Broadcasting Corp and other local media reported that more than 100 people had been killed.
Social media footage posted by Role showed people clambering over rocks, uprooted trees and mounds of dirt searching for survivors. Women could be heard weeping in the background.
Prime Minister James Marape said in a statement he was yet to be fully briefed, but that authorities were responding to the disaster.