More than 2,000 buried alive in Papua New Guinea landslide
More than 2,000 people were buried alive by a massive landslide in Papua New Guinea last week, the National Disaster Centre reported on Monday. The catastrophe occurred near Yambali village in Enga province, with treacherous terrain and access challenges heightening fears of finding few survivors.
Initial estimates from local authorities have been rising since the landslide struck on Friday. While a United Nations agency estimated the death toll at over 670 on Sunday, the National Disaster Centre raised the figure to 2,000 in a letter to the UN on Sunday, which was publicly released on Monday. The landslide has caused extensive damage to buildings and food gardens.
"The situation remains unstable as the landslip continues to shift slowly, posing ongoing danger to both the rescue teams and survivors alike," the disaster center noted. Approximately 4,000 people lived in the affected area, according to Justine McMahon, CARE International's country director for Papua New Guinea. Accurate population estimates are challenging due to the country's last credible census being conducted in 2000 and many people living in remote, mountainous villages. Papua New Guinea recently announced plans for a new census in 2024.
The unstable terrain, remote location, and nearby tribal warfare are severely hampering relief efforts. Emergency crews, led by Papua New Guinea's defense personnel, were on the ground, but the first excavator only reached the site late on Sunday, a UN official reported.
Footage shared on social media by villagers and local media showed people scaling rocks and digging with shovels, sticks, and bare hands to find survivors. Women’s weeping could be heard in the background. So far, six bodies have been recovered. The UN stated that the death toll could change as rescue operations are expected to continue for days. Local media reported that residents had rescued a couple trapped under rubble after hearing their cries for help. Johnson and Jacklyn Yandam expressed their gratitude and described their rescue as miraculous.
"We thank God for saving our lives at that moment. We were certain that we were going to die but the big rocks didn't crush us," Jacklyn said. "We got trapped for nearly eight hours, then got rescued. We believe we were saved for a purpose."
"The houses are buried under around eight meters of dirt. So there is quite a lot of debris to get through," McMahon added. Water continued to flow under the debris, making the area extremely dangerous for both residents and rescue teams, the UN migration agency noted.
Serhan Aktoprak, chief of the UN migration agency's mission in Papua New Guinea, told ABC television that emergency crews would continue searching for survivors until residents asked them to stop.
Tribal violence in the region has raised security concerns for road travel, with the military escorting convoys of rescue teams. The UN agency reported that eight people were killed, and five shops and 30 houses were burned down on Saturday. In February, Papua New Guinea granted arrest powers to its military following an outbreak of tribal violence that saw at least 26 men killed in an ambush.
The landslide also impacted a section of highway near the Porgera gold mine, operated by Barrick Gold through Barrick Niugini Ltd., its joint venture with China's Zijin Mining. Barrick stated that the mine has enough fuel on site to operate for 40 days and other critical supplies for longer.
Comments