The tragedy of a landslide in a remote village in Papua New Guinea is taking on unimaginable proportions, as the latest update to the UN says more than 2,000 people were swept into their homes.
“The landslide has buried more than 2,000 people alive and caused extensive damage,” reads a typical letter from the national emergency response centre to the UN delegation in the capital Port Moresby.
Earlier a UN official said rescue crews have been engaged in a “race against time” to find survivors
“It has been more than three days since the disaster occurred. We have been in a race against time, but the question is whether we will be able to find people” alive, Serhan Aktoprak told Agence France-Presse.
The tragedy occurred in a hillside village in Enga province, in the central part of the archipelago, which was almost wiped out when part of Mount Mungalo collapsed on Thursday night into Friday, burying dozens of homes as residents slept.
Initially, humanitarian organisations and local authority representatives expressed fears of 100 to 300 lives lost, but then the toll rose to about 670 dead when rescue teams realised that the village hit by the landslide had many more residents than they thought, Mr Aktoprak explained.
“No one could escape”
A teacher in a neighbouring village, Jacob Sowai, told Agence France-Presse that more than 2,000 people lived in the affected area. “People are devastated. No one could escape. It is very difficult to gather information. We don’t know who died because the records were buried too,” he added.
Residents of neighbouring countries are helping to recover bodies, said Nixon Pakea, president of the chamber of commerce and industry in nearby Porgera.
“Because of how hard the rocks are (…) it’s quite complicated. We need excavators to remove the debris,” he added.
Mining company in the area, New Porgera Limited, has agreed to provide excavators and other machinery to help rescue crews and to clear roads.
In total, more than 1,000 people in the area had to be rushed from their homes because of the disaster, according to humanitarian estimates.
Heavy rainfall
Residents in the area believe the landslide was caused by heavy rainfall in recent weeks.
According to the World Bank, Papua New Guinea has a climate that is among the wettest in the world and heavy rainfall often hits its wettest areas, especially in highlands.
In March, at least 23 people died in a landslide in a neighbouring province.
French President Emmanuel Macron said yesterday Sunday via X that Paris is “ready to contribute to efforts to offer aid and reconstruction”.
In a statement, US President Joe Biden said he and his wife Jill were “heartbroken” by “the loss of life and devastation”.
