More than 2,000 people are believed to have been killed following a deadly landslide in Papua New Guinea. 7,900 people evacuated for fear of another landslide.
More than 2,000 people are believed to have been buried alive following a deadly landslide in Papua New Guinea. Located in the mountainous interior region of the country, the village of Yambali was hit by the collapse of a mountainside around 3am on Friday, while it was asleep.
The village is located in a troubled and isolated area of the poor, rural nation’s interior, off Australia’s northern coast, making search and rescue operations complicated and perilous.
Authorities have begun the evacuation of around 7,900 people threatened by a possible new landslide in the country’s central highlands. Some residents refuse to leave the disaster area, with the hope of finding missing loved ones.
Estimates of the number of victims have varied widely since the disaster occurred, and it was not immediately clear how authorities calculated the number of people affected.
The death toll more than tripled the UN estimate of 670, and the acting director of Papua New Guinea’s National Disaster Center said the landslide had buried more than 2,000 people. . Rescuers have so far found only five bodies, and the leg of a sixth. The hope of finding survivors remains very low, given the severity of the disaster.
Rescue and recovery operations are underway.