The governor of Enga region said the disaster had caused “loss of life and property” in at least six villages.
Dozens of people are believed to have died after a massive landslide occurred in Papua New Guinea’s highlands, local officials and a relief group said.
The disaster struck the village of Kaokalam in Papua New Guinea’s Enga province, about 600km northwest of the South Pacific island nation’s capital Port Moresby, around 3am local time (17:00 GMT on Thursday).
About 100 people are believed to have died, according to a report by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC), but authorities have not confirmed this figure.
Al Jazeera’s Jessica Washington, reporting from Jakarta, Indonesia, said authorities say the landslide was ‘massive’ but the death toll is still unconfirmed.
She said authorities had formed a team to support the aftermath of the disaster, which affected the community, which mostly engages in subsistence farming.
Our correspondent added: “Many homes have been destroyed as well as gardens that people depend on to make a living in these communities.”
Enga state Governor Peter Ipatas told AFP that the massive landslide had caused “loss of life and property”. He said at least six villages were damaged.
“Papua New Guinea is a fairly remote and hilly area where landslides occur frequently,” Washington said, adding that Papua New Guinea is vulnerable to natural disasters, landslides, floods and earthquakes.
‘The house is buried’
Images from the scene posted on social media showed huge boulders and dirt being torn away from the lushly vegetated hillside. A long, wide gash of car-sized rocks, fallen trees, and dirt stretched toward the valley floor.
The remains of many corrugated tin shelters can be seen at the foot of the large landslide.
Dozens of local men and women climbed over rocks and mounds of dirt, dug, screamed, listened to survivors or stood and surveyed the scene in disbelief.
Some immediately became rescue workers and pulled out bodies buried under rocks and trees.
“It appears that a landslide occurred around 3 o’clock last night and more than 100 houses were buried. It is not yet known how many people were in the house,” Vincent Pyati, head of the Community Development Association, told AFP. “The number of victims is unknown.”
Elizabeth Laruma, who runs a women’s business association in the village of Porgera in the same region near the Porgera gold mine, said the ABC house in Khaokalam village collapsed when the side of the mountain collapsed. “From what I can guess, there are about 100 people buried under the ground,” she said.
Local media said the landslide may have affected mine operations.
Aid groups including the Papua New Guinea Red Cross and CARE said they had received confirmation of the landslide and were working to find out more details.
Located just south of the equator, this region experiences frequent heavy rains. This year there were torrential rains and flooding. Last March, a landslide occurred in a nearby province, killing at least 23 people.
