More than 2,000 people may be buried in Papua New Guinea landslide

On May 27, Reuters quoted a notice from Papua New Guinea's national disaster agency to the United Nations estimating that the landslide last weekend in Enga province buried more than 2,000 people and caused serious infrastructure damage.

The figure of more than 2,000 people buried is three times higher than the estimate given by local authorities. While initial reports said 60 houses and about 300 victims were buried, this figure later increased to 150 houses destroyed, more than 670 people missing.

Local people and rescue forces could only search for victims with hoes and shovels without support from motor vehicles. (Photo: Reuters)

Local authorities said search and rescue work was difficult due to the unstable geological situation in the area, and landslides were at risk of recurring, threatening the lives of both disaster survivors and rescuers.

Serhan Aktoprak, head of the International Organization for Migration (IOM) mission in Papua New Guinea, said local people were using shovels and bare hands to dig for victims because heavy equipment had not been able to reach the only route to the area. The disaster area was buried under more than 8m of earth and rock in some places.

"It's been more than three days since the disaster happened, we are racing against time, but it's not clear whether there are enough resources to help people," Mr. Aktoprak said.

According to Reuters , conflicts between tribes in the area also made the rescue process difficult. Motor vehicles could not access the landslide site and needed military escort to move.

Papua New Guinea officials also called for "immediate action and cooperation from all forces" to respond to the disaster, including the military and national and local rescue forces.

Papua New Guinea also requested the United Nations to assist in communicating the situation to development partners and international friends. Any international assistance will be coordinated through the national disaster response center.

In the early morning of May 24, a landslide from Mount Enga suddenly struck Kaokalam village in Enga province, about 600 km from the capital Port Moresby, while families were sleeping. More than 1,200 civilians in the surrounding area were evacuated from the area.

Tra Khanh (Source: Reuters)

Source: https://vtcnews.vn/hon-2-000-nguoi-co-the-bi-chon-vui-trong-lo-dat-papua-new-guinea-ar873595.html