A landslide early this morning at Doba Village in Mendi, Southern Highlands has claimed the life of an elderly woman while a mother and her three children remain buried.
A school teacher at the nearby Minuhu Primary School Hanson Akop told PNG Hausbung that the landslide occurred around 1am this morning while the villagers were asleep.
He said villagers this morning dug up the body of an elderly woman however the four others are still yet to be uncovered because of the huge stones that had piled up in the aftermath.
“The landslide buried everything in its path including the houses, however most of the villagers escaped with injuries while the elderly woman and the mother and her three children were buried with their houses,” Mr Akop said.
“We got the elderly woman’s body to Mendi General Hospital and it is now in the morgue.”
He further said there was no rain earlier in the night and they do not know what had triggered the landslide.
Meanwhile the villagers are calling on local authorities to help with equipment to recover of the bodies buried under the rubble.
Picture courtesy: Hanson Akop