Melbourne (Australia), Oct 31 (AP) - Tragedy struck the highlands of Papua New Guinea early Friday morning as a landslide claimed the lives of at least 21 individuals, according to reports from Australian media. The incident occurred around 2 am, devastating homes in the village of Kukas, located in Enga province, as residents were asleep, reported the Australian Broadcasting Corp., citing local police. Enga Governor Peter Ipatas disclosed to ABC that local accounts suggest as many as 30 fatalities, while authorities have so far recovered 18 bodies. Official reports from the police place the death toll at 21. Efforts to reach Governor Ipatas and the Wabag police station in Enga by phone remained fruitless on Friday, as calls from The Associated Press went unanswered. Mate Bagossy, the UN humanitarian adviser for Papua New Guinea, has yet to return requests for comments on the incident. Last year in May, the United Nations had cautiously estimated that a landslide in Enga resulted in 670 deaths, while the Papua New Guinea government reported that over 2,000 individuals were buried. (AP)
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