Eight killed in Papua New Guinea landslide

Eight people have been killed and 22 others are feared dead after a landslide swept through villages in the central highlands of Papua New Guinea.

The landslide struck as villagers slept and rescuers have retrieved up to eight bodies from the mud.

Twenty-two others are missing and believed to be buried under the debris, while four people were hospitalised, one with a serious leg injury.

Officials believe the landslide was triggered when one side of a cliff fell into a river, washing mud over homes in Morobe province.

A provincial administrator said heavy rains and a small earthquake on Monday may also have contributed to the landslide.