Bodies of teenagers found in Porgera

EASTER celebrations in Enga’s Porgera district were marred by the discovery of the bodies of two teenagers in the Maipam River, close to the mine site.
The news shocked the area who had not expected to make such a grisly find at Easter.
One of the dead is a boy is from the Takpild tribe of Porgera and works with the Porgera Joint Venture (PJV). The second is a girl from Kandep who lived in Porgera.
Locals alleged they had been drinking at a nightclub and may have been trying to go home when they were attacked.
The girl is believed to have been gang-raped and then killed. The boy was attacked and killed while trying to protect his partner.
Locals said the girl had been drinking with a group of young men that same day.
But the cause of the death had not been established.
Tipinini Kairik law and order restoration committee coordinator Nickson Pakea condemned the attack.
Pakea said the perpetrators should face justice as the people had no idea how and when the killings took place.
He blamed the provincial government for not banning the sale of alcohol in the province.
Pakea said many problems occurred because of alcohol.
Pakea said even if the national government placed a state of emergency in Porgera, “nothing much will change unless there is a alcohol ban in the province”.
A police officer at the Porgera police station confirmed the deaths when contacted yesterday.