Papua New Guinea says over 2,000 people buried in landslide
The once-bustling hillside village in the Enga province was almost wiped out when a chunk of Mount Mungalo collapsed in the early hours of May 24, smothering scores of the people sleeping inside their homes
May 27, 2024 / 15:18 IST
1/12
More than 2,000 people have been buried in a Papua New Guinea landslide that destroyed a remote highland village, the government warned May 27 as it called for international help in the rescue effort. (AFP)
2/12
The once-bustling hillside village in the Enga province was almost wiped out when a chunk of Mount Mungalo collapsed in the early hours of May 24, smothering scores of homes and the people sleeping inside them. (AFP)
3/12
"The landslide buried more than 2,000 people alive and caused major destruction to buildings, food gardens and caused major impact on the economic lifeline of the country," Papua New Guinea's national disaster centre said in a letter to the UN, which was obtained by AFP. (AFP)
4/12
The main highway to the large Porgera gold mine was "completely blocked", it told the UN resident coordinator's office in the capital Port Moresby. (AFP)
"The situation remains unstable as the landslip continue to shift slowly, posing ongoing danger to both the rescue teams and survivors alike," the disaster centre said. (AFP)
6/12
The scale of the catastrophe required "immediate and collaborative actions from all players", it said, including the army, and national and provincial responders. (AFP)
7/12
It called on the United Nations to inform Papua New Guinea's development partners "and other international friends" of the crisis. (AFP)
8/12
The UN has invited member nations to an emergency aid meeting via Zoom on May 28 morning, the French embassy in Port Moresby said. (AFP)
Locals and rescue teams have been using shovels and pieces of wood to find bodies under the landslide -- a mix of car-sized boulders, uprooted trees and churned-up earth that is thought to be up to eight metres (26 feet) deep. (AFP)
10/12
"The landmass is still sliding, rocks are falling from the mountain," UN migration agency official Serhan Aktoprak told AFP. Streams of water were flowing between the soil and debris while cracks were appearing in land adjacent to the landslip, Aktoprak said. (AFP)
11/12
"This might trigger a further sliding," the UN official warned, posing a "serious risk" both to rescuers and people living in the area. Aktoprak said his colleagues had to flee falling rocks at the site at the weekend. Locals said the landslip may have been triggered by heavy rains in recent weeks. (AFP)
12/12
Papua New Guinea has one of the wettest climates in the world, and research has found shifting rainfall patterns linked to climate change could exacerbate the risk of landslides. The death toll has been climbing since the disaster struck as officials reassess the size of the population lying beneath mud and rubble spanning almost four football fields in length, officials say. (AFP)
!["The landslide buried more than 2,000 people alive and caused major destruction to buildings, food gardens and caused major impact on the economic lifeline of the country," Papua New Guinea's national disaster centre said in a letter to the UN, which was obtained by AFP. (AFP)](https://images.moneycontrol.com/static-mcnews/2024/05/20240527092847_papua-New-Guinea3.jpg ""The landslide buried more than 2,000 people alive and caused major destruction to buildings, food gardens and caused major impact on the economic lifeline of the country," Papua New Guinea's national disaster centre said in a letter to the UN, which was obtained by AFP. (AFP)")
![The main highway to the large Porgera gold mine was "completely blocked", it told the UN resident coordinator's office in the capital Port Moresby. (AFP)](https://images.moneycontrol.com/static-mcnews/2024/05/20240527092958_papua-New-Guinea4.jpg "The main highway to the large Porgera gold mine was "completely blocked", it told the UN resident coordinator's office in the capital Port Moresby. (AFP)")
!["The situation remains unstable as the landslip continue to shift slowly, posing ongoing danger to both the rescue teams and survivors alike," the disaster centre said. (AFP)](https://images.moneycontrol.com/static-mcnews/2024/05/20240527093056_papua-New-Guinea5.jpg ""The situation remains unstable as the landslip continue to shift slowly, posing ongoing danger to both the rescue teams and survivors alike," the disaster centre said. (AFP)")
![The scale of the catastrophe required "immediate and collaborative actions from all players", it said, including the army, and national and provincial responders. (AFP)](https://images.moneycontrol.com/static-mcnews/2024/05/20240527093152_papua-New-Guinea6.jpg "The scale of the catastrophe required "immediate and collaborative actions from all players", it said, including the army, and national and provincial responders. (AFP)")
![It called on the United Nations to inform Papua New Guinea's development partners "and other international friends" of the crisis. (AFP)](https://images.moneycontrol.com/static-mcnews/2024/05/20240527093250_papua-New-Guinea7.jpg "It called on the United Nations to inform Papua New Guinea's development partners "and other international friends" of the crisis. (AFP)")
!["The landmass is still sliding, rocks are falling from the mountain," UN migration agency official Serhan Aktoprak told AFP. Streams of water were flowing between the soil and debris while cracks were appearing in land adjacent to the landslip, Aktoprak said. (AFP)](https://images.moneycontrol.com/static-mcnews/2024/05/20240527093541_papua-New-Guinea10.jpg ""The landmass is still sliding, rocks are falling from the mountain," UN migration agency official Serhan Aktoprak told AFP. Streams of water were flowing between the soil and debris while cracks were appearing in land adjacent to the landslip, Aktoprak said. (AFP)")
!["This might trigger a further sliding," the UN official warned, posing a "serious risk" both to rescuers and people living in the area. Aktoprak said his colleagues had to flee falling rocks at the site at the weekend. Locals said the landslip may have been triggered by heavy rains in recent weeks. (AFP)](https://images.moneycontrol.com/static-mcnews/2024/05/20240527093705_papua-New-Guinea11.jpg ""This might trigger a further sliding," the UN official warned, posing a "serious risk" both to rescuers and people living in the area. Aktoprak said his colleagues had to flee falling rocks at the site at the weekend. Locals said the landslip may have been triggered by heavy rains in recent weeks. (AFP)")
