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More than 100 people are believed to be dead after a landslide buried a remote village in Papua New Guinea.
The landslide reportedly hit Kaokalam Village in Enga Province, about 600 kilometres (370 miles) northwest of the nation’s capital of Port Moresby, at roughly 3am local time on Friday.
Residents said the current estimates of the death toll are above 100, although authorities have not confirmed this figure. Villagers said the number of people killed could be much higher.
Social media video showed locals pulling out bodies from underneath rubble.
Elizabeth Laruma, who runs a women’s business association in Porgera, a town in the same province near the Porgera Gold Mine, said village houses were flattened when the side of a mountain gave way.
“It has occurred when people were still asleep in the early hours, and the entire village has gone down,”
“From what I can presume, it’s about 100-plus people who are buried beneath the ground.”
The landslide blocked the road between Porgera and the village, she said, raising concerns about the town’s own supply of fuel and goods.
Village resident Ninga Role, who was away when the landslide struck, expects at least four of his relatives have died.
“There are some huge stones and plants, trees. The buildings collapsed,” Mr Role said. “These things are making it hard to find the bodies fast.”
The Papua New Guinea government and police did not immediately respond to requests for comment.