Papua New Guinea landslide: New Zealand 'ready to help'

New Zealand is ready to help disaster relief efforts in Papua New Guinea if asked, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon says.

Australia was also on standby to provide relief to those affected by a major landslide in a remote village in the highlands in which hundreds of people have been killed.

Recovery efforts to dig out bodies – believed to be in the thousands – were continuing under challenging conditions.

Luxon said the landslide was incredibly tragic.

"Well, we are ready to help. We've been ready since the weekend. It could be a deployment of a C1-30 with relief supplies, for example.

"But again, the process is that the UN is actually going to coordinate the response and the support and work with the PNG government so they've got one point of contact and we are very happy to help in any way we can."

Australia has made an initial announcement of aid, and said it would supply $2.7 million in humanitarian support to Papua New Guinea.

Its response included sending technical experts to the Enga province, as well as providing shelter, hygiene and other support.

PNG community leader Miok Michael had visited the site of the landslide and told RNZ Pacific it was heartbreaking.

"People are still crying for help as hundreds — if not thousands — of bodies are still scattered."

RNZ Pacific correspondent Scott Waide said that "many people have accepted their loved ones are dead".

"But in PNG there needs to be closure so a lot of people will want to dig up the bodies for closure."

Australia's Pacific Minister Pat Conroy described the situation as "incredibly grim" and sent his condolences to the nation.

"I'm advised access can only be achieved through helicopters, so the search and recovery efforts are very, very, challenging," he told ABC News Breakfast today. "We stand ready to support Papua New Guinea in any way they need it.

"We're the closest neighbours and the dearest of friends, and we owe them a debt of gratitude for their assistance in our floods, our bush fires... and we'll do anything they need to support them in this disaster."

Conroy said the support provided by Australia was only an initial commitment and more would flow at the request of PNG's government.

Under the Australian aid package, experts would provide incident management assistance, support geo-hazard assessments and help early recovery efforts, with the Australian Defence Force also assisting.

rnz.co.nz with additional reporting by AAP

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