Natural disaster
More than 600 deaths feared after landslide in Papua New Guinea
People climb over the landslide in Papua New Guinea
© Benjamin Sipa / International Organization for Migration / AP / DPA
It was early in the morning when rubble, boulders and uprooted trees suddenly fell on a village in Papua New Guinea. Several hundred people have been missing since the landslide.
According to the UN, more than 650 people are feared dead after the devastating landslide in Papua New Guinea. “It is estimated that 150 houses are now buried and 670 people are estimated to be dead,” Serhan Aktoprak from the Port Moresby office of the International Organization for Migration (IOM) told the AFP news agency on Sunday.
The accident occurred early Friday morning in a remote part of Enga province. Boulders, clods of earth and uprooted trees fell on the hillside village while many villagers were sleeping at home.
The first search and rescue teams arrived at the scene of the accident on Saturday. They assisted the villagers in their search for several hundred people buried. The village mayor, Mark Ipuia, said on Saturday that he feared more than 300 people were buried.
However, reliable information about the exact number of victims may only be available in a few days. According to a According to the UN situation report, “people who lived in the approximately 60 destroyed houses are missing.” So far, at least four bodies have been recovered, said a UN official in the capital Port Moresby.
More than 3,800 people affected by landslide in Papua New Guinea
“There are many houses under the rubble that cannot be reached,” said UN official Serhan Aktoprak. It is estimated that more than 3,800 people lived in the village. The earth and rubble masses are eight meters deep in some places and are still moving in parts. This makes the search and rescue operation “dangerous” for the rescue teams.
Papua New Guinea is located in the southwestern Pacific and is frequently hit by heavy rain. This year there have already been intense rains and floods. In March, at least 23 people were killed in a landslide in a nearby province.