An emergency response team has been sent to Papua New Guinea's (PNG) northern Enga province after a massive landslide hit the region early Friday morning, local media reported.
Enga provincial administrator Sandis Tsaka told Loop PNG that the emergency force was deployed to the landslide accident site at Mulitaka in Porgera-Paiela district to assess damages.
The administrator expressed heartfelt sympathies to the affected communities and families of six villages in Mulitaka.
Around 3 a.m. on May 24, a village in Enga province, Papua New Guinea, was hit by a landslide. /CMG
"The Enga provincial government's immediate response is to compile a rapid impact assessment in order to mobilize relief assistance to the affected communities while establishing dialogue with the management of affected organizations including New Porgera Limited and the national government to work on opening the access road to Porgera that was substantially damaged and blocked," said Tsaka.
At about 3 a.m. on Friday, a landslide struck Kaokalam village in Enga province, located over 600 km northwest of PNG's capital Port Moresby.
Residents told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation that the death toll rose above 100, but the figure has yet to be confirmed by local authorities.