SYDNEY, Dec 6 (Reuters) - As many as 40 people are missing in Papua New Guinea after a landslide hit in the vicinity of a gold mine, the Australia Broadcasting Corp said on Saturday, and an Australian rescue team was on its way to help in the search.

The bodies of 10 dead, including those of three children, had been recovered from the site already, an Australian government official who declined to be identified said.

The Australian rescue team of around five including dog handlers was sent at the request of the PNG government, a spokesman for Emergency Management Australia said by telephone.

"We still don't really know how many are buried. They think that the village itself had about that many people," Alastair Wilson said, referring to the figure of 40 missing.

The landslide happened on Thursday at the Kora exploration camp of the Kainantu gold mine site, east of Goroka, the capital of Eastern Highlands province.

The rescue service spokesman told Reuters the landslide was not actually at the mine itself but some distance away.

The mine is operated by Canadian-based mining giant Barrick Gold <ABX.TO>.

The rescue team was expected to fly up to the site on arrival in Papua New Guinea and be there later on Saturday. (Editing by Jerry Norton)

AlertNet news is provided by