More than 30 people are believed to have died after a powerful earthquake struck Papua New Guinea’s mountainous interior, a report said Tuesday as details of “extensive” damage began to emerge. The 7.5-magnitude tremor struck 90 kilometres south of Porgera in the Pacific nation’s Enga province early Monday, with two strong aftershocks rattling the rugged region. Some 300 people were injured, it added, and properties damaged, with reports of landslides and sinkholes. The Papua New Guinea Today website, quoting Catholic priest Pius Hal, said at least 10 died, including four children, in quake-triggered landslides. Agnes Kep told the Post Courier she was asleep in Mendi when the quake struck.

Source: Hindustan Times February 27, 2018 01:52 UTC