The once bustling hillside village Yambali in the province of Enga was almost completely wiped out when the landslide struck in the early hours of Friday morning, burying dozens of homes and the people sleeping in them.
“There are an estimated 150-plus houses now buried” said UN migration agency official Serhan Aktoprak, adding that “670-plus people are assumed dead.”
UN agency fears 670 dead after Papua New Guinea landslide.The unforgiving terrain, damaged roads and an outbreak of tribal violence nearby have seriously hamstrung efforts to get help into the disaster zone.
More than two days after the landslide rumbled down the face of Mount Mungalo, mud-caked villagers in bare feet are still searching for their loved ones using shovels, axes and other makeshift tools. Disaster worker Omer Mohamud arrived at the site on Sunday, finding deeply “traumatised” villagers using “sticks and spades to discover the trapped bodies”.
