Rescuers Search Rubble After Over 300 Buried In Papua New Guinea Landslide

(MENAFN- AzerNews) Rescue teams have arrived at the site of an enormous landslidein Papua New Guinea's remote highlands, helping villagers searchfor hundreds of people feared dead under towering mounds of rubbleand mud, Azernews reports, citing Aljazeera.

“At this time, we are still searching for bodies who are buriedby the massive landslide,” community leader Mark Ipuia told Reutersnews agency on Saturday, adding that“more than 300” villagers maybe entombed.

So far, only four bodies have been pulled from the debris, aUnited Nations official based in the capital, Port Moresby, wasquoted as saying.

The disaster hit Kaokalam village in Enga province early onFriday morning when many villagers were at home asleep, accordingto government officials.

According to Papua New Guinea media, at least 1,182 houses werealso buried in the landslide in the area located about 600km (370miles) northwest of Port Moresby.

“There are a lot of houses under the debris that cannot bereached,” said UN official Serhan Aktoprak, who estimated as manyas 3,000 people called the hillside settlement home.

While the area is not densely populated, humanitarian agencyCARE said that it is worried that the death toll could bedisproportionately high.

The landslide has also blocked highway access, makinghelicopters the only way to reach the area. The emergency team ofmedics, including military and police, also faced difficulty inreaching the area due to rugged terrain and damage to majorroads.

MENAFN25052024000195011045ID1108257200