Girl, 9, loses whole family after dad throws her to safety

JERINA Peter, 9, was thrown to safety by her dad Peter Hapon before he disappeared with the rest of the family in a landslide.
Hapon, wife Louis and daughters Jerolyne, 5, and Senis, 18 months, were trapped inside their home at Puinj village in the Karinz local level government of Southern Highlands. It happened when the 7.5 magnitude earthquake struck at 3.34 am on Monday last week.
Jerina Peter is in grade 3 at Puinj Primary School but will not be going to school for a while as all schools in the province have been closed.
She is still traumatised by the incident but told her uncle, Buka, last week that her father had thrown her to safety.
It was the last time she saw him before he was swept away with the home and disappeared.
Relatives are taking care of her as relief supplies and assistance have started to flow into the affected areas in Hela and Southern Highlands.
Acting provincial administrator Thomas Eluh said the death toll in Southern Highlands stood at 35.
But it could be more as reports from the isolated areas trickled in.