Papua New Guinea informed the UN today that more than 2,000 people were buried in a massive landslide that swept over a remote village, according to a copy of the letter obtained by AFP.
“The landslide buried more than 2,000 people alive and caused major destruction,” the country’s national disaster centre told the UN office in the capital Port Moresby. A remote village in Enga district was almost wiped out when part of Mount Mungalo collapsed early Friday morning, burying many houses and people sleeping there.
The landslide caused “major damage to houses and vegetable gardens and had a significant impact on the country’s economic life”, the disaster agency said. The main highway leading to the Porgera mine was “completely blocked”, said the letter received by UN officials on Monday morning.
“The situation remains unstable as the landslide continues to move slowly, posing an ongoing danger to both rescue teams and survivors. »
The scale of the disaster required “immediate and collaborative actions from all stakeholders,” he said, including the military and national and regional responders. He called on the UN to inform Papua New Guinea’s development partners “and other international friends” of the latest situation.
Relief should be arranged through disaster management agencies, he added.
