Mt Hagen police appeal for calm amid clashes

3:26 pm on 24 June 2015

Police in the Papua New Guinea city of Mt Hagen have appealed for calm following a riot by high school students yesterday.

The Post Courier reports that high school students rampaged over the death of a fellow student in a roadside accident, amid tensions between locals and settlers from Eastern Highlands.

PNG police on patrol

PNG police on patrol Photo: AFP

This reportedly also relates to the death in Mt Hagen of a Goroka man during the televised State of Origin rugby league match last Wednesday.

Three deaths have been reported in relation to ethnic clashes, with a range of injuries and destruction to properties in the city.

The latest unrest comes after a student of Mt Hagen Secondary School was reportedly hit and killed by a vehicle on Monday.

A group of fellow students then went on a rampage, causing destruction to Mt Hagen's main market and several shops in the city before police intervened to control the crowd.