More than 670 feared dead in Papua New Guinea landslide, UN agency says

SYDNEY – More than 670 people are assumed to have died in Papua New Guinea’s massive landslide, the UN migration agency estimated on May 26, as rescue efforts continued.

The media in the South Pacific nation north of Australia had previously estimated that

the landslide on May 24

had buried more than 300 people.

But more than 48 hours later, the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) said the death toll may be more than double that, as the full extent of the destruction is still unclear and continuing dangerous conditions on the ground are hampering aid and rescue efforts.

Only five bodies and the leg of a sixth had been pulled from the debris so far.

The agency based its death toll estimates on information provided by officials at Yambali village in Enga province. The officials said more than 150 houses were buried in the landslide, Mr Serhan Aktoprak, the chief of the agency’s mission in Papua New Guinea, said in an e-mail statement.

“Land is still sliding, rocks are falling, ground soil is cracking due to constant increased pressure and groundwater is running, thus (the) area is posing an extreme risk for everyone,” Mr Aktoprak said.

More than 250 houses nearby have been abandoned by their inhabitants, who had taken temporary shelter with their relatives and friends, and some 1,250 people have been displaced, the agency said.

“People are using digging sticks, spades, large agricultural forks to remove the bodies buried under the soil,” Mr Aktoprak said.

The IOM said an elementary school, small businesses and stalls, a guesthouse, and a petrol station were also buried.

The UN’s Papua New Guinea office said five bodies were retrieved from an area where 50 to 60 homes had been destroyed, and a number of injured reported, including at least 20 women and children.

IOM said the community in this village was relatively young, and it was feared that the most fatalities would be children aged 15 years or younger.

Mr Aktoprak said tribal fighting had broken out along the only remaining route into the disaster zone. While the violence was “not related to the landslide”, Papua New Guinea’s military was providing a “security escort” to ensure the safe passage of aid convoys, he added.

Social media footage posted by villagers and local media teams show people clambering over rocks, uprooted trees and mounds of dirt searching for survivors. Women could be heard weeping in the background.

The landslide hit a section of highway near the Porgera gold mine, operated by Barrick Gold through Barrick Niugini, its joint venture with China’s Zijin Mining.

The Porgera Highway remains blocked, IOM said, and the only way to reach the Porgera Gold Mine and other localities cut off from the rest of Enga Province is via helicopter.

The geographic remoteness and the tough, hilly terrain are slowing rescue and aid efforts.

The government and the Papua New Guinea Defence Force engineering team are on the ground, but heavy equipment like excavators, which are required for the rescue, are yet to reach the village.

IOM said the community may not allow use of excavators until they consider they had fulfilled their mourning and grieving obligations.

“People are coming to terms with the fact that the people under the debris are now all but lost,” IOM said in an earlier status update by e-mail.

The government plans to establish two care/evacuation centres, each on one side of the landslide affected area to host the displaced who may need shelter.

A humanitarian convoy has started distributing bottled water, food, clothing, hygiene kits, kitchen utensils, tarpaulins, as well as personal protective equipment.

Aid group Care Australia said late on May 25 that nearly 4,000 people lived in the impact zone but the number affected was probably higher as the area is “a place of refuge for those displaced by conflicts” in nearby areas.

At least 26 men were killed in Enga province in February in an ambush amid tribal violence that prompted Prime Minister James Marape to give arrest powers to the country’s military.

The landslide left debris up to 8m deep across 200 sq km, cutting off road access and making relief efforts difficult, Care said.

Local residents suspected the landslide may have been triggered by heavy rain that saturated the region in recent weeks.

Mr Steven Kandai, a community leader who was at the scene, told AFP that many residents had no time to flee for their lives.

“All of a sudden, there was a big landslip. The mountain just collapsed all of a sudden while people were still sleeping,” he said, adding that their homes were “completely buried”.

Papua New Guinea has one of the wettest climates in the world, according to the World Bank, with the heaviest downpours concentrated in the humid highland regions.

Research has found shifting rainfall patterns linked to climate change could exacerbate the risk of landslides.

This year has seen intense rainfall and flooding across Papua New Guinea.

US President Joe Biden said he was “heartbroken by the loss of life and devastation”, adding that the United States stood “ready to assist” in recovery efforts with its partners, including Australia and New Zealand.

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said that “all Australians grieve for our brothers and sisters in Papua New Guinea after the terrible landslide”. REUTERS, AFP