Papua New Guinea ordered thousands of residents to be removed from the path of a still active landslide this Tuesday (28), after parts of a mountain collapsed, burying at least 2,000 people, according to government estimates.
Authorities said the chances of finding survivors were slim, even with relief teams arriving in the hard-to-reach northern Enga region of the Pacific nation since Friday (24).
The arrival of heavy equipment and aid has been slow due to treacherous terrain and tribal unrest in the remote area, forcing the military to escort convoys of relief teams.
Residents have been using shovels and their bare hands to search for survivors.
“The landslide area is very unstable. When we are up there, we regularly hear big explosions where the mountain is, there are still rocks and debris falling,” Enga provincial disaster committee chairman Sandis Tsaka told Reuters.
According to him, the military set up checkpoints and was helping to take residents to evacuation centers.
The United Nations said on Tuesday that six bodies had been recovered so far and that the total affected population, including those in need of possible evacuation and relocation, was estimated at 7,849. An International Organization for Migration official said a bridge collapsed on the main highway to the site, forcing aid convoys to take a longer route.
Papua New Guinea regularly suffers from landslides and natural disasters that rarely make headlines, but this is one of the most devastating the country has seen in recent years.
The government estimates that more than 2,000 people were buried in Friday's landslide, a much higher figure than the UN's possible death toll of 670, and the much lower estimates of some local authorities.
Source: CNN Brasil
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