Earthquake in Papua New Guinea Cracks Airport Runway

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - The twin earthquakes that hit Papua New Guinea this weekend have significantly damaged the runway of the Madang Province's airport, leaving it with long deep cracks requiring repairs, Prime Minister James Marape stated on Monday.

Magnitude 6.7 and 6.9 quakes hit near Madang on Saturday. There have been no reports of casualties and damage so far.

Marape was quoted as saying by a newspaper that the government had tasked a senior inspector with checking the airport for damage.

"[The inspector] identified long cracks along the runway as a direct result of the earthquake. The location of the cracks is between 70m and 170m from the runway threshold. The fence line beyond runway 25 threshold was also damaged," the prime minister was quoted as saying, adding "There will be an urgent pavement repair work to be carried out on the runway and along the fence."

The newspaper wrote that the Ramu nickel cobalt mine, as well as some properties were affected by the earthquakes, and a mobile network was cut off as telecommunications towers were damaged. Various individuals sustained minor injuries, but no casualties have been reported so far.