Massive Landslide Strikes Remote Papua New Guinea Village

A massive landslide has reportedly killed several people in a remote village in northern Papua New Guinea. The Australian Broadcasting Corp (ABC) reported that the disaster hit Kaokalam Village in Enga Province early on Friday morning. ABC, citing residents, also reported that the current estimates of the death toll is above 100. It is important to note that no casualties have been officially confirmed.

According to a BBC report, Papua New Guinea's Prime Minister, James Marape, said that his government has sent disaster officials, the PNG Defence Force, and the Department of Works and Highways for rescue operations. "I will release further information as I am fully briefed on the scale of destruction and loss of lives," James Marape said in a statement, as quoted by the BBC. Images circulating online show a wide scar of mud and rocks on a steep mountainside slope, and several houses appear to have collapsed and trees uprooted. The Enga province is about 600 km north of Port Moresby, the Pacific island nation's capital. 

At the same time, villagers reportedly said that the number of people killed in the landslide could be much higher. The devastated village's remote location is making rescue operations more difficult. Papua New Guinea, with a population of 10 million, is the most populous country in the South Pacific, behind Australia.