Melbourne: Papua New Guinea Prime Minister James Marape on Friday visited the site where hundreds of villagers are feared to have been buried alive in a massive landslide a week ago. The landslide site has become so unstable that heavy earthmoving machines are difficult to move there. Marape told hundreds of people gathered at the landslide site of Yambali village that among the governments and world leaders who have sent condolences are the US, China, India, France, Malaysia and the Czech Republic. Top on the list of those who have sent such messages is Britain’s Charles III, who is the constitutional head of state of Papua New Guinea. Marape said, “My people are very simple. I want to thank the global friends of Papua New Guinea.”
Landslide caused huge destruction
The first mechanical excavator arrived at the landslide site on Sunday, but it has not been allowed to remove boulders, rocks and uprooted trees buried in the debris. This is because the ground there has become very unstable. This landslide has caused massive destruction in Enga province. The army had expected 10 excavators and bulldozers to reach the site this week to help the villagers, but so far only seven machines have reached there. Villagers have used spades and other agricultural equipment to remove the bodies from the debris.
what do the statistics say
The United Nations estimates that the disaster killed 670 people and displaced 1,650. The government has told the UN it thinks more than 2,000 people are trapped under the rubble. Marape said recent geotechnical reports found the area was unstable. “That’s why we didn’t use heavy machinery because there was a fear that it could cause further disturbance,” he said. “A full assessment will be done on the stability of the site before using heavy machinery,” he said. (AP)
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