Over 2,000 people buried in Papua New Guinea landslide

A deadly landslide which villagers in Papua New Guinea say struck like “an exploding bomb” may have buried more than 2,000 people alive, according to the BBC.

The figure – provided by the acting director of the country’s National Disaster Centre – is far higher than the 670 the United Nations (UN) suggested over the weekend.

The deadly landslide toppled buildings and vehicles, trapping thousands of people under rubble, officials said in a press release Monday.

Government officials visited the disaster site on Sunday. And even as the official death toll jumped, they warned that far more victims than expected appeared to still be caught under the rubble.

“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,” Lusete Mana, an official in the National Disaster Center, said in a letter to the United Nations.

The letter stressed that rescue efforts continued to be a challenge.

The main highway to the area is blocked, the letter said, and the ground remains unstable as water flows beneath the rocks, shifting land and “posing ongoing danger to both the rescue teams and survivors alike.”

About 3,800 people had been living in the area before the disaster, according to the BBC.

The letter by Ms Mana said the damage was “extensive,” and that it had “caused a major impact on the economic lifeline of the country.”

A heterogeneous country, Papua New Guinea is rich in natural resources but lacks critical infrastructure, making it especially vulnerable to natural disasters, which strike frequently.

Attempts to rescue survivors or remove bodies from the rubble have so far been hindered by rubble 10m (32ft) deep in some places, blocked access and a lack of adequate equipment, Reuters reported.

“Nobody escaped. We don’t know who died because records are buried,” a schoolteacher from a neighbouring village, Jacob Sowai, told news agency AFP.

Standing in the wreckage of the disaster – which extends for close to a kilometre – Evit Kambu said she felt helpless.

“I have 18 of my family members buried under the debris and soil that I am standing on, and a lot more family members in the village I cannot count,” she told the Reuters news agency.

On Monday, Britain’s King Charles III, who is also head of state of Papua New Guinea, sent his and the Queen’s condolences.

He added that he had “great admiration for the extraordinary resilience” of the country’s people, which he had witnessed first-hand.

“I have faith that your communities will come together to support the survivors and the recovery in these heartbreaking circumstances,” his statement on X read.

Remaining residents are being evacuated as the region remains high-risk amid forecasts of further rain.

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“The ground is also quite unstable at the moment and it is at risk of triggering further landslides,” BBC quoted Justine McMahon, the country co-ordinator of Care Australia, one of the humanitarian aid agencies on the ground to have said.

“We’ve decided to stay out for now to allow the authorities time to properly assess the situation to conduct the rescue and recovery operations.”

Local officials and reporters have attributed the mountain’s collapse to weeks of heavy rain and other wet conditions in the area.