Landslide kills more than 100 people in Papua New Guinea village

People gather at the site of a landslide in Maip Mulitaka in Papua New Guinea Photo: STR

More than 100 people are believed to have died after the landslide , burying a remote village in Papua New Guinea.

The landslide is reported to have hit the village of Kaokalam in Enga province, about 600 kilometers (370 miles) northwest of the capital Port Moresby, about 3 a.m. Friday local time.

The death toll is believed to have exceeded 100. Photo: Facebook: Kindupan Kambii

Residents said current estimates put the death toll at more than 100, although authorities have not confirmed that figure. Villagers say the death toll could have been much higher.

Social media shows locals pulling bodies out of the 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 destroyed when the mountainside collapsed.

«It happened while people were still sleeping in the early hours of the morning and the whole village collapsed,» Ms Laruma told the ABC. 

“As far as I can guess, there are about 100-plus people buried underground.”

Landslide hit the village early Friday morning. Photo: AFP

She said the landslide had blocked the road between Porgera and the village, raising concerns about the town's own supply of fuel and goods.

Village resident Ninga Role, who was away when the landslide occurred, expects at least four of his relatives died.

“There are huge rocks and plants, trees. Buildings collapsed,” Mr Rawle said. «These things make it difficult to quickly find bodies.»

The Papua New Guinea government and police did not immediately respond to requests for comment.