Outlook Web Desk
In a devastating landslide as a side of a mountain came down and reportedly buried over 2000 people, according to the Papua New Guinea government. On Sunday, they officially sought the United Nations' help for to coordinate contributions from individual nations.
The landslide took place near the village of Yambali, a settlement which is located in a restive and remote area in the interior of the poor, rural nation off the northern coast of Australia. The geographical location of the island is making search and rescue efforts more hazardous.
According to the government death toll is roughly triple the UN estimate of 670. In a letter to the United Nations resident coordinator dated Sunday, the acting director of Papua New Guinea's National Disaster Center Luseta Laso Mana said the landslide 'buried more than 2,000 people alive' and 'caused major destruction' at Yambali village in the Enga province.
Emergency responders have reportedly brought aid in from Wabag. Local people have been working tirelessly to clear debris 6 to 8 meters deep covering an area the size of three or four football fields by hand with shovels and picks for more than two days.
A local builder donated an excavator. However, the survivors have been hesitant to use it as it might disfigure the bodies of their relatives. The donated excavator was driven away Monday morning.
Military engineers with additional heavy equipment are being transported to the disaster scene 400 kilometres from the east coast city of Lae and are expected to arrive Tuesday or Wednesday.
An Australian disaster response team was scheduled to arrive Tuesday in Papua New Guinea, which is Australia's nearest neighbour. It will include a geohazard assessment team and drones to help map the site.
The debris is getting increasingly waterlogged from three streams covered by the landslide, making it dangerous to work on and increasing the possibility it could slide farther downhill.
With the disaster ongoing and the early stage rescue efforts, it's hard to know exactly what comes next. In addition to people who have been evacuated from settlements lower than Yambali, an estimated 6,000 have been affected by the disaster so far.
The government of Papua New Guinea formally asked Monday for more international help. The United States and Australia, a near neighbour and Papua New Guinea's most generous provider of foreign aid, are among governments that have publicly stated their readiness to do more.