Nine dead

NINE people, including a six-year-old boy, died after a vehicle ran off a bridge and plunged into a river outside Kainantu in Eastern Highlands on Friday.
The driver and a man seated next to him in the 10-seater Toyota Land Cruiser died in the hospital. Seven others were trapped in the wreckage and drowned at the Bane River.
The victims, eight men and a woman, were travelling towards Kainantu between 3am and 4am when the tragedy occurred.
Police in Kainantu confirmed an Agarabi ward councillor from Bilimoia village led a drinking party late Thursday night into the early hours of Friday.
Kainantu police station commander Chief Inspector Peter Roari said the councillor and his men, who were at a liquor outlet eight kilometres east of Kainantu town, got the beer on credit from a married couple.
He said the group then agreed to drive to Kainantu town in the night to get cash from an automated teller machine (ATM) to pay the couple for their beer.
Roari said the six-year-old boy was with his parents who sold beer to the councillor and his men.
“The driver lost control when negotiating the bridge,” he said.
“The vehicle crashed off the bridge and plunged into the river.
“While airborne, the driver and the man seated next to him opened the door and were flung out.”
He said the driver and his crew were arrested two days earlier (on Wednesday) for alleged drink driving and later released.
Meanwhile, Eastern Highlands commander Superintendent Michael Welly condemned the actions of the councillor, who was supposed to lead by example, but instead led them to their death.
He said despite endless warnings, the people had yet to learn to be responsible for their safety.
Kainantu villagers helped pull the vehicle out of the water on Friday morning, retrieved and sent the bodies to Kainantu Hospital mortuary.