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About 4,000 people officially live in the area where the avalanche occurred, although the authorities estimate that the number of people affected is higher.
The United Nations estimated this Sunday that more than 670 people died in the avalanche of land that buried a remote village in the north of Papua New Guinea, ubicated in the southwest Pacific region.
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Much of the village of Kaokalam was buried by a layer of between six and eight metres of rocks and stones and the avalanche affected an area of more than 200 square kilometres, including some 150 kilometers of the main road of the province and other sections of access to the village are cut by previous landslides making rescue efforts difficult.
Although so far only five bodies have been recovered by the head of the International Organization for Migration (IOM) in Papua New Guinea, Serhan Aktoprak, told Australian state television ABC that according to new estimates, more than 150 houses were buried by a layer of rocks and earth between six and eight meters deep.
Drone video reveals extent of the damage caused by a landslide in Papua New Guinea, which killed more than 670 people according to the UN.
— Al Jazeera English (@AJEnglish) May 26, 2024
Rescue workers are trying to retrieve bodies from under the mud. pic.twitter.com/SPvUjdeaQF
In the village of Kaokalam, 600 kilometres from the country’s capital, Port Moresby, "the team has informed us that it is difficult to confirm the actual number (of deaths) while search and rescue efforts continue," said Kesang Phuntsho, responsible for the United Nations office in Papua New Guinea.
In addition to the five bodies recovered, the UN delegation indicated in a report this Sunday that there are an unknown number of injured, "including 20 women and children". In the official UN communiqué it is estimated that there are at least 50 to 60 houses buried, in addition to a school, a church, orchards and vehicles.
UN indicates that the disaster area remains dangerous because of the risk of further avalanches, so they work on the evacuation of survivors, 1,250, while a UN head of the country reported that his colleagues had to flee the place due to the growing danger, as rocks continue to fall non-stop and the earth continues to slide.
About 4,000 people officially live in the area where the avalanche occurred, although the authorities estimate that the number of people affected is higher, as the village in which it occurred is a place where locals take refuge fleeing conflicts and tribal clashes in nearby villages.
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