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. Treacherous terrain and the difficulty of getting aid to the site raise the risk that few survivors will be found.
The number of those buried around Yambali village in Enga province is based on estimates from local authorities. These estimates have been rising steadily since Friday’s landslide.
A UN agency put the estimated death toll at more than 670 people on Sunday.
The National Disaster Center raised the toll to 2,000 in a letter to the UN on Sunday, released publicly on Monday. The landslide also caused major destruction to buildings and food gardens.
“The situation remains unstable as the landslip continues to shift slowly, posing an ongoing danger to both the rescue teams and survivors alike,” the letter stated.
CARE International PNG country director Justine McMahon told ABC television on Monday that about 4,000 people lived near the affected area.
The unstable terrain, remote location, and nearby tribal warfare hampering Papua New Guinea’s relief efforts.
Emergency crews, led by PNG’s defense personnel, were on the ground, but the first excavator reached the site late on Sunday, according to a UN official.
Social media footage posted by villagers and local media showed people scaling rocks and digging with shovels, sticks, and bare hands to find survivors. Women could be heard weeping in the background.
The landslide occurred in Enga province early Friday and displaced about 1,250 people. More than 150 houses were buried, and about 250 houses were abandoned.
“The houses are buried under around eight meters of dirt. There is quite a lot of debris to get through,” said CARE’s McMahon.
Challenges in Rescue Operations
According to the UN migration agency, water continues to flow under the debris, making it extremely dangerous for residents and the rescue team to clear debris.
Serhan Aktoprak, the chief of the UN migration agency’s mission in PNG, told ABC television that emergency crews would continue to look for survivors until residents asked them to stop.
Aktoprak said the rescue team had eight vehicles but hoped to receive additional resources soon.
Tribal violence in the region has raised security concerns for road travel, with the military escorting convoys of rescue teams. Eight people were killed, and five shops and 30 houses burned down on Saturday, the UN agency said. PNG gave arrest powers to its military in February amid an eruption of tribal violence that saw at least 26 men killed in an ambush.
The landslide hit 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 said the mine has enough fuel on-site to operate for 40 days and other critical supplies for longer.
