Papua New Guinea: Over 2,000 people were buried alive in massive landslide at a remote village in Papua New Guinea.
Confirming about the death toll, the country’s national disaster centre told the UN office in the capital Port Moresby said, “The landslide buried more than 2,000 people alive and caused major destruction.”
Notably, at around 3:00 a.m. local time on Friday, a massive landslide battered a remote region in Enga province, located over 600 km northwest of PNG’s capital, Port Moresby. Reportedly, the landslide has caused major destruction to buildings, food gardens and caused major impact on the economic lifeline of the country.
Meanwhile, the man highway to Porgera Mine remains completely block while the situation is said to be unstable as the landslide continue to shift slowly. This shifting is another risk for both the rescue team and survivors.
According to Serhan Aktoprak, the chief of the UN migration agency’s mission in the Pacific island country, the scale of the impact was much greater than initially thought.
Earlier, during an interview with the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, Aktoprak said that more than 150 houses might be buried under the debris six to eight metres deep, and over 670 people could have lost their lives.
The area surrounding the disaster zone in Enga province also remained dangerous, with incessant rockfalls and continuous landslides prompting the evacuation of about 1,250 survivors, the official noted.
The UN office in PNG issued a statement on Saturday, offering its deepest condolences to the victims and their families in the Lagaip Porgera District of Enga province.
“While the total number of casualties is yet to be determined, preliminary reporting indicates the death toll may be significant. Search and rescue efforts are underway, although continuous landslides and falling boulders are affecting these efforts,” said a spokesperson.
