Australia plans to send aid to Papua New Guinea as rain raises safety fears at deadly landslide site

Australia is preparing to send aircraft and other equipment to help at the site of the deadly landslide in Papua New Guinea as rain in the South Pacific nation’s mountainous interior is raising fears that the tons of rubble that buried hundreds of villagers will become dangerously unstable. Australian Defense Minister Richard Marles said Monday his officials have been talking with their Papua New Guinea counterparts since Friday when a mountainside collapsed on Yambali village in Enga province, which the U.N. estimates killed 670 people. The remains of only six people have been recovered so far. Heavy rain fell for two hours overnight in the provincial capital of Wabag, 35 miles from the devastated village. Communications with the village are limited.