Over 100 People Killed As Massive Landslide Hits Papua Region At Dawn

• The residents of Kaokalam in Enga province were fast asleep when the disaster hit at the dawn of Friday, May 24
• About 100 people were reported dead, with videos shared on social media showing the survivors pulling the bodies buried under trees and rocks
• Authorities from Port Moresby were yet to establish the exact number of casualties, with locals suspecting the toll could be way over 100

Kai Eli, a journalist at TUKO.co.ke, brings more than three years of experience covering politics and current affairs in Kenya.

Oceania: Over 100 people are feared to have died after a landslide hit a village in Papua New Guinea on the dawn of Friday, May 24.

The Indian Express reports that the disaster struck Kaokalam village in Enga province at 3:00am, about 600 kilometres (370 miles) northwest of Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea's capital.

As response teams combed through the scenes, the survivors revealed the death toll could be well over 100.

"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," a local was quoted by ABC News as saying.

Authorities were yet to update conclusively on the crisis at the time of this publication.

Videos on social media showed locals pulling bodies buried under rocks and trees.

Over 70 killed in Mai Mahiu flooding disaster

In a similar tragedy back in Kenya, over 70 people died in April after floods swept through villages in Mai Mahiu, Nakuru county, 60 kilometres from Nairobi.

The disaster struck on the dawn of Monday, April 29.

Nakuru County Police Commander Samue Ndanyi confirmed that the bloodbath occurred after the walls of a water reservoir in the Old Kijabe locality collapsed sweeping the homes away.

Leading the rescue operations at the scene were responders from the Kenya Red Cross and national and Nakuru county emergency response teams.

Property and people were trapped in the mud as the government ordered the rest of the villagers adjoining the tragedy area to vacate.

The memorial service for a number of the victims was held in Naivasha, Nakuru county, on May 9.

Speaking at the function, Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua explained that the national government would allocate KSh 300 million to house the flood victims.

The national and county governments funded the send-off of the deceased.

Proofreading by Mercy Nyambura Guthua, journalist and copy editor at TUKO.co.ke