Landslide in Papua New Guinea: Race to rescue trapped villagers

Emergency services are racing to reach villages hit by a massive landslide in Papua New Guinea’s isolated Inga province, where hundreds of people are feared dead.

Humanitarian agency CARE Australia said a rapid response team made up of medics and military personnel was able to reach the isolated landslide site.

She added that the difficult terrain and damage to main roads make rescue efforts difficult, as the highway has been closed and the area can only be accessed by helicopter.

The landslide buried hundreds of homes in the Inga Highlands, north of the island nation in the southwestern Pacific Ocean, at around 03:00 local time on Friday (17:00 GMT on Thursday).

It is still unclear how many people are trapped under the rubble.

“Although the area is not densely populated, our concern is that the death toll may be disproportionately high,” CARE Australia said in a previous statement.

Amos Akim, a member of parliament for Inga County, told The Guardian that based on reports from the ground, “the landslide buried more than 300 people and 1,182 homes.”

The Guardian newspaper quoted Akeem as saying that rescue efforts were hampered by the blockage of the road linking the affected village of Yambali to the capital.

Yambali is located about 50 kilometers (31 mi) from Wabag, the provincial capital.

Speaking to the Associated Press news agency, the UN official, Mr Oktoberak, said the area affected by the landslide covers the area of ​​three to four football fields.

He added that Yambali village is home to 3,895 people.

Oktoberak said some homes in the village survived the landslide, but “given the scale of the disaster” the death toll could be higher than 100 people.