More than 50 people were injured in the incident, which occurred early on Wednesday morning
More than 670 people are believed to have died after a massive landslide in Papua New Guinea, a UN official said on Sunday, May 26.
Aid workers and villagers are searching for survivors of the landslide that hit Kaokalam village in Enga Province, about 600 km northwest of capital Port Moresby, around 3am on Friday.
"There are an estimated 150-plus houses now buried" said UN migration agency official Serhan Aktoprak, adding that "670-plus people are assumed dead".
Stay up to date with the latest news. Follow KT on WhatsApp Channels.
"The situation is terrible with the land still sliding. The water is running and this is creating a massive risk for eveyrone involved," added Aktoprak, who is based in Port Moresby.
More than 1,000 people have been displaced by the catastrophe, he added, with food gardens and water supplies almost completely wiped out.
Aid agencies and local leaders initially feared between 100 and 300 people may have perished in the disaster.
The death toll was revised up as disaster workers on the ground realised more people were living in the village than initially estimated, according to Aktoprak
The village was home to more than 4,000 people, serving as a trading post for alluvial miners who panned for the gold in the highlands region.
Five bodies had been pulled from the debris by Saturday night.
At some points, the landslide -- a mix of car-sized boulders, uprooted trees and churned-up earth -- was thought to be eight metres (26 feet) deep.
Locals said the landslide may have been triggered by heavy rains that have saturated the region in recent weeks.
ALSO READ:
More than 50 people were injured in the incident, which occurred early on Wednesday morning
All Muslims are expected to complete the Haj to the holy city of at least once in their lives if they have the means to do so
As of late on Monday, around 1.5 million pilgrims arrived in Saudi Arabia from abroad, most of them by air: The official Saudi Press Agency
It was originally copied by a monk in what is now Egypt around the fourth century AD, making it at least 1,600 years old
Disasters lead to class disruptions and learning loss; authorities use tech to try to build resilience
As the temperature crossed 40°C between May 18 and 25, women in the states of Rajasthan, Gujarat and Maharashtra received a flat $5 payment
Egypt and Qatar said they had received Hamas' response but did not disclose the contents
A jury in Wilmington, Delaware, federal court issued the verdict, making him the first child of a sitting US president to be convicted of a crime