News

Hundreds feared dead after landslide flattens remote PNG village

Published

1 month ago

May 24, 2024

editor

Hundreds are feared dead after a massive landslide levelled dozens of homes and buried families alive in a remote village in northern Papua New Guinea early on Friday, a resident said.

More than 50 homes, many with people still asleep inside, were buried when the landslide hit Kaokalam village around 3 a.m., villager Ninga Role told Reuters by phone. The death toll was nearly 300, among them his brother and cousin, he said.

The Australian Broadcasting Corp and other local media reported that more than 100 people had been killed.

One man who turned back to try and save his two children was buried along with his extended family, Role said.

Social media footage posted by Role showed people clambering over rocks, uprooted trees and mounds of dirt searching for survivors. Women could be heard weeping in the background.

“It’s very impossible, the area covered by the landslide is large and there are rocks and trees everywhere,” Role said.

“It’s very difficult to get them out.”

The village is in Enga province, about 600 km (370 miles) north of the capital, Port Moresby.

Prime Minister James Marape said in a statement he was yet to be fully briefed, but that authorities were responding to the disaster.

“We are sending in disaster officials, PNG Defence Force, and the Department of Works and Highways to meet provincial and district officials in Enga and also start relief work, recovery of bodies, and reconstruction of infrastructure,” Marape said.

“I will release further information as I am fully briefed on the scale of destruction and loss of lives.”

PNG police did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The landslide hit a section of highway near the Porgera gold mine, operated by Barrick Gold through Barrick Niugini Ltd, its joint venture with China’s Zijin Mining.

“The extent of the damage is still being assessed, so it is too early to know the impact, if any, on the operations of the Porgera Gold Mine, which is 100 km away,” a spokesperson for Barrick Gold said.

Porgera currently has sufficient fuel on-site to operate normally for 40 days and other critical supplies for longer, the spokesperson added.

(Reuters)

News

Israeli tourist found safe after three-day search in Trincomalee

Published

4 hours ago

June 30, 2024

editor

Tamar Amitai, a 25-year-old Israeli tourist who went missing in Uppuveli, Trincomalee, has been found safe following a three-day joint search operation.

Amitai arrived in Trincomalee last Tuesday and had booked a hotel online. The hotel reported her missing to the police on Wednesday after she did not return.

In response, a joint search operation involving the police, army, and the Eastern Province Tourism Authority, directed by the Governor’s office in the Eastern Province, was launched.

A breakthrough came when a villager provided a tip-off that a foreign woman matching Tamar’s description was spotted in a dazed condition near a jungle and a rock, approximately three kilometers from the hotel.

Amitai was found and admitted to the Uppuveli hospital, where she is reported to be in stable condition.

News

Fisheries Minister denies Indian media reports on Palk Bay boundary agreement

Published

4 hours ago

June 30, 2024

editor

Fisheries Minister Douglas Devananda has refuted Indian media reports about any new agreement between Sri Lanka and India regarding the Palk Bay boundary or the Kachchathivu island.

Responding to reports from Indian newspapers, Devananda yesterday told the Sunday Observer that there had been no discussions in the Cabinet about maritime boundaries in the Palk Bay.

Devananda took to task some Indian political parties for revisiting the 1974-1976 India-Sri Lanka Agreement on the Palk Bay boundary during the Indian elections, using the issue of Kachchathivu island to garner votes.

He said that such claims are common during elections, referencing the recent Lok Sabha elections in Tamil Nadu.

He said that the boundary agreement was more disadvantageous to Sri Lanka, limiting access to minerals, pearl grounds, and other resources in the Wadge Bank of the Palk Bay boundary.

(sundayobserver.lk)

(Except for the headline, this story, originally published by sundayobserver.lk has not been edited by SLM staff)

BIZ

Travel ban issued against Sena Yaddehige over alleged sexual abuse

Published

5 hours ago

June 30, 2024

editor

The Kollupitiya Police have obtained a travel ban against Sena Yaddehige, Chairman of Richard Pieris Group, in connection with the alleged sexual abuse of a female business analyst from the company.

According to police sources, the victim, a 39-year-old resident of Colombo, lodged a complaint last month, claiming she was sexually abused by the Chairman on May 7 at a star-class hotel in Kollupitiya.

The complainant stated that she had been working remotely as a business analyst for the company for at least a month while the Chairman was overseas.

On May 6, she was contacted by the company and informed that the Chairman had returned to Sri Lanka and wanted to meet her on May 7.

During the meeting at the specified location, the woman alleged that the Chairman sexually abused her. She subsequently reported the incident to the Kollupitiya Police, who then informed the Fort Magistrate.

Sources also mentioned that the Chairman left the country on the same day the incident occurred.

Source – dailymirror.lk