SYDNEY: More than 300 people and over 1,100 houses were buried by a massive landslide that levelled a remote village in northern Papua New Guinea, local media reported on Saturday.
Hundreds are feared dead in the landslide that hit Kaokalam village in Enga Province, about 600 km (370 miles) northwest of capital Port Moresby, around 3 a.m. on Friday (1900 GMT on Thursday).
The landslide in the Pacific nation north of Australia buried more than 300 people and 1,182 houses, the Papua New Guinea Post Courier said, citing comments from a member of the country’s parliament, Aimos Akem. Akem did not immediately respond to Reuters request for comment via social media.
More than six villages had been impacted by the landslide in the province’s Mulitaka region, Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) said on Saturday.
“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,” a DFAT spokesperson said in a statement.
The Australian Broadcasting Corp. reported on Saturday that four bodies had been retrieved from the area after emergency teams reached the sparsely populated area, where the death toll is expected to rise.
The landslide has blocked highway access, making helicopters the only way to reach the area, the broadcaster reported.
Social media footage posted by villager Ninga 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 has said disaster officials, the Defense Force and the Department of Works and Highways were assisting with relief and recovery efforts.
More than 300 buried in Papua New Guinea landslide, local media says
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More than 300 buried in Papua New Guinea landslide, local media says
- Hundreds are feared dead in the landslide that hit Kaokalam village
Pro-Palestinian activists stopped from disrupting Milan Cortina Olympics torch relay
- A third group of about 10 people that was monitored by police waved Palestinian flags when the relay passed by the city’s biggest university, La Sapienza
ROME: Two groups of pro-Palestinian activists were prevented by authorities from coming into contact with the opening stages of the Milan Cortina Winter Olympics torch relay, Italian police said on Saturday.
Both groups — one of them with about 15 people — were removed before they reached the relay route in Rome, police said.
A third group of about 10 people that was monitored by police waved Palestinian flags when the relay passed by the city’s biggest university, La Sapienza.
There were also three people carrying signs in support of Venezuela near the American embassy.
In October, more than two million demonstrators marched through more than 100 Italian cities to protest the war in Gaza.
Olympic champion swimmer Gregorio Paltrinieri began the relay in the statue-lined Stadio dei Marmi and the torch was carried for 33 kilometers (20 miles) before ending the day in Piazza del Popolo.
The relay will cover 12,000 kilometers (nearly 7,500 miles) and wind its way through all 110 Italian provinces before reaching Milan’s San Siro Stadium for the opening ceremony on Feb. 6.
In all, there will be 10,001 torch bearers.
The next stops on the torch relay are Viterbo on Sunday and Terni on Monday.
