Hundreds feared dead after landslide hits remote Papua New Guinea village - Reuters

YEREVAN, MAY 24, ARMENPRESS. Hundreds are feared dead after a massive landslide flattened dozens of homes and buried families alive in a remote village in northern Papua New Guinea (PNG) early on Friday, a resident told Reuters.

More than 50 homes, many with people still asleep inside, were buried when the landslide hit Kaokalam village around 3 a.m., villager Ninga Role told Reuters by phone. 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.

The village is in Enga province, about 600 km (370 miles) north of the capital Port Moresby.

Prime Minister James Marape said in a statement he had yet to be fully briefed but that authorities were responding to the disaster.

"We are sending in disaster officials, PNG Defence Force, and the Department of Works and Highways to meet provincial and district officials in Enga and also start relief work, recovery of bodies, and reconstruction of infrastructure," Marape said.