Papua New Guinea: Rescuers arrive at landslide site

A rapid response team of medics, military and police arrived Saturday at the site of a massive landslide in Papua New Guinea's highlands that devastated the remote mountain village of Yambali. An emergency convoy also delivered food, water and other supplies to survivors.

Rescuers are helping villagers search for missing loved ones feared dead under towering mounds of debris and mud. Aid agencies said the disaster virtually wiped out the village's livestock, food gardens and sources of clean water.

Relief efforts have been delayed by the landslide, which has closed the province's main highway serving the Porgera gold mine and the neighboring town of Porgera.

More convoys are planned for Sunday, including the arrival of heavy earth-moving equipment to help clear the 6 to 8 meters (20 to 26 feet) of debris, soil and rocks that fell from Mount Mungalo, which overlooks Yambali.

Hundreds feared dead

The disaster struck part of Yambali, the village in the remote province of Enga around 3:00 a.m. local time Friday, government officials said, wiping out swaths of the hillside settlement as villagers slept.

By early Saturday, at least four bodies had been recovered from the vast expanse of earth, boulders and splintered trees.

An assessment team initially reported "suggestions" that 100 people were dead and 60 homes buried by the collapsed mountainside, said Serhan Aktoprak, the head of the International Organization for Migration's mission in the South Pacific island nation.

"There are a lot of houses under the debris that cannot be reached," said Aktoprak, who estimated more than 3,800 people lived in the village.

Both the United Nations and Red Cross have said the death toll could be substantially higher than 100, although they cautioned it could take days until a reliable estimate emerges.

"At this time, we are still searching for bodies who are buried by the massive landslide," local leader Mark Ipuia said, adding he feared "more than 300" people were buried under the debris.

Humanitarian group CARE Australia on Saturday said that more than 4,000 people were likely to have been impacted by the landslide.

It also said the total number of those affected was probably higher as the area was "a place of refuge for those displaced by conflicts" in nearby areas.

US and Australia offer support

US President Joe Biden and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said their governments stood ready to help respond to the landslide.

Biden said he was "heartbroken by the loss of life and devastation," adding that the United States stands "ready to assist" in recovery efforts with partners including Australia and New Zealand.

Albanese posted on the social media platform X: "All Australians grieve for our brothers and sisters in Papua New Guinea after the terrible landslide."

Australia is Papua New Guinea's near neighbor and most generous provider of foreign aid.

Enga province is a sparsely populated and difficult to access inland region in the northern half of Papua New Guinea. The location of the landslide is approximately 600 kilometers northwest of the capital, Port Moresby.

Situated just south of the equator, the area frequently experiences heavy rainfall, and this year has seen intense rainfall and flooding. It's also volcanically and seismically active.

In March, a landslide killed at least 23 people in a nearby province.

dh/wd (AP, AFP, dpa)