Victor EzejaNot few than 2,000 people were buried alive in a massive landslide that occurred on Friday in Papua New Guinea, said the country’s national disaster centre.
Papua New Guinea is an island nation in Oceania. It lies in the south-western Pacific and includes the eastern half of New Guinea and several offshore islands.
According to reports, the incident caused heavy destruction in Yambari village in Enga province.
In a letter to the United Nations, the acting director of Papua New Guinea’s National Disaster Center, Luseta Laso Mana, said the landslide “buried more than 2,000 people alive.”
The figure goes beyond the 670 estimated by the UN International Organisation for Migration (IOM) on Sunday morning.
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Mana lamented that the landslide would create a severe economic challenge in the entire country.
Papua New Guinea’s population is estimated to be around 10 million people.
The landslide, according to an Associated Press report, also blocked a 200-meter stretch of the Enga province’s main highway with debris, creating a major obstacle for relief workers.
While a rescue operation is ongoing, Mana in the letter expressed worry that “The situation remains unstable due to the shifting ground, posing danger to both the rescue teams and survivors alike.”
A local builder was said to have donated an excavator on Sunday which was the first piece of earthmoving machine used in excavation to find bodies of victims buried in the rubbles while the PNG’s government later deployed more. .
Victor Ezeja is a passionate journalist with six years of experience writing on economy, politics and energy. He holds a Masters degree in Mass Communication.
