French Polynesian authorities have retrieved a total of eight bodies that were buried following a major landslide on its main island of Tahiti.

The disaster struck several houses in the town of Afaahiti-Taravao, southeast Tahiti, on Wednesday, about 5am local time (Thursday NZT).

The final toll comes after one day and one night of searching for potential survivors.

The search operations involved about 200 emergency staff, gendarmes and firemen, medical emergency teams, underground cameras, radars, drones but also an army helicopter as well as sniffer dogs.

One of the victims was a three-year-old girl.

Earlier, in this hillside village, search operations had to stop due to more landslides and collapse of whole portions of the mountainside soaked by days of torrential rain.

French Polynesia President Moetai Brotherson said a medico-psychological assistance unit remained active to help local people cope with the disaster.

French High Commissioner Alexandre Rochatte said an investigation for “manslaughter” was underway to try and establish the causes of the tragedy and whether the affected buildings and location met the requirements for dwellings of this type and the constructed zone.

“This type of tragedy reminds us why there are rules,” Brotherson said.

“Some of these houses are over 40 years old.”

He said current building regulations and requirements were now “stricter”.

Flags flying at half mast
All flags at public buildings in French Polynesia are flying at half mast and Friday’s sitting of the Territorial Assembly will be marked by one minute of silence in homage to the victims.

Brotherson also said an ecumenical religious service was currently being prepared.

Messages of condolence, support and solidarity have flowed, including from French President Emmanuel Macron and French Minister for Overseas Territories Naïma Moutchou.

Moutchou said a team of geological experts was on its way from Nouméa (New Caledonia) and Paris with a mission to establish whether the landslide-affected zone was secure or not.

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

New Caledonia’s Great Chief William Boarat has been found dead and police have arrested a 24-year-old man as investigations continue.

Great Chief Boarat was found dead in the early hours of yesterday in circumstances described as involuntary homicide.

Public prosecutor Yves Dupas said in a statement that initial findings on the crime scene in the village of Ouaco pointed to an initial assault from a 24-year-old man on a woman he was in a de facto relationship with.

Chief Boarat, 66, who was present at the scene, reportedly tried to stop the man from hitting his partner in their village residence.

The young man, believed to be under the influence of alcohol, is then reported to have grabbed a wooden post and hit the chief on the head.

A medical team later found the old chief unconscious, with severe head wounds.

Attempts to revive him proved unsuccessful.

The suspect has been taken into custody, and investigations are ongoing.

He faces charges of murder and assault against his de facto partner.

Witnesses are also being questioned as part of the inquiry.

A post-mortem has been ordered to further establish the exact cause of death.

The Boarat clan is the main chiefly entity of the Koumac area, which itself belongs to the chiefly area of Hoot ma Waap (one of the eight chiefly areas represented in New Caledonia’s Customary Senate).

This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

A Papua New Guinean businessman who caused the death of his girlfriend by punching her, forcing her to jump out of the car he was driving, has been jailed for 15 years.

Richard Namaliu, 28, of Vunapope village in Kokopo, East New Britain was convicted of manslaughter for causing the death of Ruby-Anne Laufa, a former Miss PNG queen, on February 11, 2017.

Justice Teresa Berrigan said it was yet another case in Papua New Guinea where a woman had died at the hands of a current or former boyfriend, someone she should have been able to trust.

“Women are an integral part of society,” Justice Berrigan said.

“They are entitled to be treated with respect and dignity. They have the same rights and privileges as men.

“They are entitled to fully participate in, and benefit from, the development of the country.

“This is only possible when women live free from fear of violence or death in their own homes or at the hands of their husbands, partners or boyfriends.”

Punched woman several times
The court was told that while travelling in a moving vehicle, Namaliu punched Laufa several times which caused her to jump out, resulting in her death.

Justice Berrigan called it an unprovoked and cowardly attack.

“The offender’s moral culpability is not diminished by the fact that the deceased jumped from the vehicle.

“It was the [his] conduct that drove the deceased to jump from the moving vehicle and caused her death,” she said.

“There was no means of escape available to the victim other than to jump from the car. Her last moments would have been spent in pain and fear.”

Laufa was just two days shy of her 25th birthday and was just beginning a career in law, having obtained a Bachelors of Law degree from the University of PNG in 2014.

As Miss PNG, she represented the country in 2013 at the Miss Pacific contest in Samoa where she was the runner-up.

Previously ‘good character’
Justice Berrigan considered in mitigation that Namaliu was a first time offender, previously of good character, and a businessmen who employs 13 people from various settlements in Port Moresby.

The court was also told that his companies supported charity work and his catering company provided meals to patients at the Port Moresby General Hospital every Christmas.

The court was also told that Namaliu and his family had apologised to Laufa’s family and offered compensation which was rejected.

Namaliu will be remanded at an isolation facility inside Bomana Prison for at least two weeks before being transferred to the main compound, subject to medical assessment.

The Pacific Media Centre republishes The National articles with permission.

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz