Climate
Landslide in Papua New Guinea: More than 2,000 people buried alive
The disaster occurred in a remote town on the island located north of Australia and authorities are still searching for survivors
May 27, 2024 11:30am
Updated: May 28, 2024 9:28am
More than 2,000 people were buried by a massive landslide that devastated a remote town in northern Papua New Guinea last Friday, according to the region’s National Disaster Center, while rescue efforts are complicated by the instability of the terrain and the difficult access to the area.
According to a letter from the center dated Sunday and sent this Monday to the U.N. coordinator in the country, to which the Spanish news agency EFE had access, “more than 2,000 people were buried alive” by the “massive landslide” that occurred nearby. of the Porgera gold mine, in the province of Enga, north of the second largest island in the world.
The landslide, which occurred on Friday at 3 a.m. in the early morning, “caused great destruction of buildings and gardens and has had a great impact on the country's economic support,” the letter states, adding that the main access road to the Porgera mine “is completely blocked.”
The collapse of part of a mountain for reasons still unknown impacted the town of Kaokalam, about 600 kilometers from the country's capital, Port Moresby.
“The situation remains unstable, as the landslide continues slowly, which still poses a danger to rescue teams and survivors,” underlines the letter from the Papuan organization.
Despite the difficulties, the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) said today in a statement that medical assistance has been provided to “six survivors, including a child,” and that efforts continue “to find the missing.”
Among them it is indicated that there are “both residents and individuals displaced by the recent conflicts.”
The country's Ministry of Defense, which is leading the rescue operation with the support of local and provincial authorities, the National Disaster Center and international organizations, points out today in a statement that the landslide affected an area inhabited by more than 4,000 people.
However, local authorities estimate that the number of people affected may be higher, since the area was home to people displaced by conflicts and tribal clashes from nearby villages.
UNICEF estimates that, of the total number of people affected, which it also establishes at around 4,000, 1,550 are children, with a school in the area "completely damaged" by the landslide, "9 orphaned children and more than 20 women and minors injured."
U.N. sources consulted by EFE highlight the difficulty of accurately determining the number of fatalities and missing persons due, in part, to the laborious rescue operation due to the instability of the terrain, the difficult access to the area and communication problems.
“Three and a half days have passed and the chances of saving lives at a depth of between six and eight meters are not very high, unfortunately,” a spokesperson for the International Organization for Migration (IOM) told the agency today.
Figures from Sunday from the IOM, which has six workers in the area of the catastrophe, estimated at 670 those buried under the landslide, although according to the National Disaster Center this figure rises to 2 thousand, although the sources consulted insist on maintaining certain reservations given the circumstances.
The landslide has also displaced about a thousand people, according to this agency.
The U.N. Coordination Office in Papua New Guinea said in a statement on Monday that it is assisting the country in establishing “evacuation centers” for those affected by the tragedy.
The affected area usually suffers from intense rains and flooding, and landslides are not unusual in the country, where, despite the wealth of natural resources, a large part of its more than nine million inhabitants live in extreme poverty and are isolated. due to communications and infrastructure deficit.
The tragedy coincides with a crisis in the government of Prime Minister James Marape, which could face a vote of confidence after this weekend at least 18 deputies linked to his party, including five ministers, joined the opposition due to disagreements. with government policies.
Papua New Guinea sits on the so-called Pacific Ring of Fire, an area of great seismic and volcanic activity that is shaken each year by about 7,000 earthquakes, most of them moderate.
