More than 30 believed dead in PNG quake

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 (55 miles) south of Porgera in the Pacific nation's Enga province early Monday, with two strong aftershocks rattling the rugged region.
Phone lines were largely cut, but the PNG Post Courier newspaper cited Hela provincial administrator William Bando as saying there were casualties. It reported that at least 13 died in the Southern Highlands capital Mendi while 18 others were believed to have been killed in nearby Kutubu and Bosave.
Some 300 people were injured, it added, and properties damaged, with reports of landslides and sinkholes.