Papua New Guinea’s national disaster centre told the UN on Monday that thousands of people were buried under a massive landslide that hit a remote village, The Guardian reports.
The country’s national disaster centre told the UN office in the capital Port Moresby:
“The massive landslide buried more than 2,000 people alive and caused major destruction.”
A once bustling hillside village in Enga province was virtually wiped out when a chunk of Mount Mungalo collapsed early Friday morning, burying dozens of homes and the people sleeping in them.
The landslide caused “significant damage to buildings, vegetable gardens and dealt a serious blow to the country’s economic livelihood”, the disaster management authority said.
The main highway to the Porgera mine was “completely blocked”, said the letter, which was received by UN officials on Monday morning. It also added:
“The situation remains unstable as the landslip continue to shift slowly, posing ongoing danger to both the rescue teams and survivors alike.”
The scale of the disaster required “immediate and collaborative actions from all players”, the document said, including the army and national and regional response services.
The search for people under the rubble continues
The United Nations called on PNG’s development partners “and other international friends” to inform the latest situation. Assistance should be coordinated through the emergency centre, it said.
About 4,000 people live near the affected area, CARE International PNG director Justin McMahon told ABC television on Monday.
However, it is difficult to get accurate figures on the local population because the last reliable census in Papua New Guinea (PNG) was conducted in 2000 and many people live in remote mountain villages. The country recently announced that a census will be conducted in 2024. The unstable terrain, remote location and tribal warfare make it difficult to provide aid in Papua New Guinea.
A UN spokesman said ambulance crews led by PNG troops had already arrived on the ground, but the first excavator only reached the site on Sunday.
Footage posted on social media by villagers and local media shows people climbing rocks, digging with shovels, sticks and bare hands in an attempt to find survivors. Women can be heard sobbing in the background.
Six bodies have been recovered so far. The UN said the number of possible fatalities could change as rescue efforts are expected to continue for several days. On Monday, Papua New Guinea media reported that residents rescued a couple trapped under the rubble after hearing their cries for help.
