The avalanche of land that, in the early hours of Friday, May 24, hit and buried a remote village in northern Papua New Guinea, burying at least 300 peopleaccording to local media in the country this Saturday.
Although there are still no official sources from the authorities, due to the difficulty of access to the place and the precarious communications in the country, the local newspaper Post Courier quoted parliamentarian Aimos Aken, who asked the Government for help in the rescue efforts, since The landslide in the town of Kaokalam “buried at least 300 people”
Landslide in Papua New Guinea.
Photo:
The NGO Care Australia, present in Papua New Guinea, indicated on Friday, through a statement sent to EFE, that the access road to the village is blocked and “will take considerable time to clear”which will delay aid efforts and the arrival of information about the victims.
Despite the difficulties, a rescue team from the Papuan authorities has arrived at the scene to evaluate the situation and assist the victims, the NGO said.
“Although the area is not densely populated, our concern is that the death toll is disproportionately high,” the statement said.
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Although the area is not densely populated, our concern is that the death toll is disproportionately high.
According to a neighbor cited by the Australian network, Elizabeth Laruma, the houses were buried when the sudden avalanche from a nearby mountain took place, surprising the locals while they were sleeping.
This woman stated that “the entire town has disappeared.”
For his part, the governor of Enga, Sandis Tsaka, indicated in a statement on Friday that rescue teams from the Police, the Army, international NGOs and the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) have traveled to the area to assist in an “unprecedented natural disaster.”
Landslide in Papua New Guinea.
Photo:
Papuan Prime Minister James Marape indicated that they will release more information about the “scale of the disaster and the loss of life” when the displaced teams evaluate the situation, according to a statement released by their spokesperson.
Likewise, the Australian Prime Minister, Anthony Albanese, today transmitted his condolences on the social network X (formerly Twitter) and showed Australia’s willingness to help.
Images from the scene of the American chain disaster NBC show a vast area of rocks and earth torn from a hill, as well as neighbors collecting their belongings and exploring the area buried by the landslide in search of survivors.
The affected area usually suffers from heavy rains and flooding, and landslides are not unusual in the countryin which, despite the wealth in natural resources, a large part of its more than nine million inhabitants lives in extreme poverty and is isolated due to a lack of communications and infrastructure, especially in remote places such as the current catastrophe.
EFE
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