According to authorities, the disaster occurred in Kaokalam village, Porgera town, Enga province, about 600 km northwest of the capital Port Moresby. The landslide occurred at around 3am on May 24 when many villagers were sleeping. Maip Mulitaka community leader Andrew Ruing feared that more than 300 villagers were buried. This number is three times higher than the initial information about human losses.
“People here are in the darkest moment. They can’t cry or do anything, can’t speak, this situation has never happened before in history. We are calling for support from the government, businesses, individuals from everywhere. We are looking for help from people around here. More than 300 lives are buried under the rubble, rocks. We really need help,” said Mr. Ruing.
This morning (May 25), a rapid response team of medical staff, military and police reached the disaster area after a complicated journey by road due to the difficult terrain and damaged major roads. The forces are urgently deployed to search for victims.
Serhan Aktoprak, a UN official in the capital Port Moresby, said only four bodies had been pulled from the rubble so far. Many homes were buried and inaccessible to rescue teams. In addition, the earth and rocks were still shifting, making rescue operations dangerous.
Although the area is not densely populated, the death toll is feared to be high, humanitarian agency CARE said. In addition, the disaster has buried livestock, crops and wiped out the village of Kaokalam's clean water supply.
The area where the landslide occurred lies just south of the equator, an area that regularly experiences heavy rains. In March this year, at least 23 people were killed in a landslide in a neighboring province.
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