Papua New Guinea suffered a huge landslide in a remote village in the northern region on Friday, and is calling for international help, as it fears more than 2,000 bodies are trapped.
“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,” an official from the National Disaster Center said in a letter to the United Nations.
The Australian government said it would provide 2.5 million Australian dollars (1.6 million dollars) in humanitarian assistance to support the response.
The number marks a steep incline in which the UN suggested that around 670 people had been killed. Around 150 houses are believed to have been submerged under the landslide in Yambali village. A further 250 houses have been abandoned since the devastating event at approximately 3 am on Friday.
Emergency groups are still on the ground trying to retrieve bodies, however, the road connecting the village has been cut off and the affected area is only accessible by helicopter. Therefore, the rescue team cannot get the heavy equipment to the impact site.
The UN said there are currently eight vehicles on site, but they need more to be able to make progress, the local UN migration mission has said it will continue retrieving bodies until the residents ask them to stop.
“Many of the houses are buried under eight meters of dirt so if the land doesn’t stabilize then it has to be done predominantly by hand which will take a significant amount of time,” aid group CARE International Papua New Guinea Director, Justine McMahon told the Guardian.
The director added that, in the village, most houses are constructed from lightweight materials and cannot withstand even small-scale impacts.
The rescue mission is particularly challenging as the military escorting the relief teams is unwelcome amid tribal violence and tensions in the area. Teams said that transporting people out of the village is even more difficult. On Saturday, eight people were killed and 30 houses burnt down as a result of the tensions.
The military has had the power to arrest tribal members since February, after a violent outburst that led to an ambush resulting in the death of 26 men.