Over 300 people and more than 1,100 houses have been buried by an enormous landslide that flattened a remote village in northern Papua New Guinea, according to local media reports on Saturday.
Hundreds are now feared dead in the landslide that hit Kaokalam village in Enga Province, at about 3 a.m. on Friday.
The landslide in the Pacific nation north of Australia sunk over 300 people and 1,182 houses, according to the Papua New Guinea Post Courier.
At least six villages have been impacted by the landslide in the province’s Mulitaka region, according to Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) on Saturday.
Meanwhile, the Australian Broadcasting Corp had reported on Saturday that four bodies have been retrieved from the area after emergency teams got to the sparsely populated area, where the death toll is expected to increase.
This current landslide has blockaded highway access, and helicopter transport is the only way to reach the area.
Prime Minister, James Marape, has said that disaster officials, the Defence Force and the Department of Works and Highways were helping with relief and recovery efforts.
