The destruction of a remote village devastated by a massive landslide in Papua New Guinea reaches survivors of the devastating flood in Enga

Food, water, and other goods were being delivered by an emergency convoy to survivors of the devastating landslide that destroyed a remote village and was feared to have killed scores of people.

An assessment team reported “suggestions” that 100 people were dead and 60 houses buried by the mountainside that collapsed in Enga province a few hours before dawn Friday, said Serhan Aktoprak, the chief of the International Organization for Migration’s mission in the South Pacific island nation.

“The scale is so big, I wouldn’t be surprised if there would be more casualties than the earlier reported 100,” Aktoprak said. The number of casualties would be more than the 100 if 60 houses had been destroyed.

Only three bodies had been recovered by early Saturday from the vast swath of earth, boulders and splintered trees that struck Yambali, a village of nearly 4,000 people that is 600 kilometers (370 miles) northwest of the capital, Port Moresby.

Papua New Guinea Prime Minister James Marape said Friday he would release information about the scale of the destruction and loss of life when it becomes available.

All food gardens that sustain the village’s subsistence farming population were destroyed and the three streams that provide drinking water were buried by the landslide, which also blocked the province’s main highway.

“People — they cannot cry or they cannot do anything, because it’s difficult for them,” Ruing said in a video shown by Australian Broadcasting Corp. “Because such a situation has never happened in history. We are asking for help from the national government, the people on the ground, business houses, the heights from everywhere, and so forth.

Aktoprak said that besides food and water, the villagers had an urgent need for shelters and blankets. Relief would be focused on the most vulnerable of people, he said.

Source: Emergency convoy reaches survivors of a massive landslide in Papua New Guinea

The tragedy of the Porgera Gold mine collapse in Papua New Guinea: A U.S. president’s shock at the time of the tragedy

The main highway that connects the Porgera Gold mine to the neighboring town of Porgera was closed due to a slide.

The United States and Australia have defense ties with a strategically important nation, where China is looking for closer security and economic ties.

Biden, who was to become the first sitting U.S. president to visit Papua New Guinea a year ago but canceled the trip to focus on a debt crisis in Congress, said he was heartbroken by the loss of life and devastation.

“Our prayers are with all the families impacted by this tragedy and all the first responders who are putting themselves in harm’s way to help their fellow citizens,” Biden said in a statement.

“All Australians are devastated by the tragic collapse of the mine in Papua New Kingdom,” said the posting on the social media platform X.

The defense minister and the director of the national disaster center were going to Wabag on Sunday to get a good idea of what is needed.

McMahon thinks it will be a challenging situation, because it is such a spread-out area. This is an immense disaster.

There were other health facilities in the region as well as the World Health Organization sending health workers, McMahon said.

The numbers of injured and missing were still being assessed on Sunday. Seven people including a child had received medical treatment by Saturday, but officials had no details on their conditions.

MELBOURNE, Australia — The International Organization for Migration on Sunday increased its estimate of the death toll from a massive landslide in Papua New Guinea to more than 670.

Serhan Aktoprak, the chief of the U.N. migration agency’s mission in the South Pacific island nation, said that the revised death toll was due to calculations by the villagers and local officials. The previous estimate was more than 60 homes.

New Zealand soldiers confronted with the destruction of a village in Papua New Guinea on Sunday after a landslide

Emergency responders in Papua New Guinea were moving survivors to safer ground on Sunday as tons of unstable earth and tribal warfare, which is rife in the country’s Highlands, threatened the rescue effort.

Government authorities were establishing safe zones on either side of the massive debris that covers an area the size of four football fields and cuts the main highway through the province.

Along the highway that is blocked, there are convoys that have been taking essential supplies to the destroyed village since Saturday, but they have faced risks due to tribal fighting in the village. The soldiers were from the country of New Zealand.

Eight people were killed in a clash of clans on Saturday and it was not related to the landslide. Around 30 homes and five retail businesses were burned down in the fighting, local officials said.

Aktoprak said he did not expect tribal combatants would target the convoys but noted that opportunistic criminals might take advantage of the mayhem to do so.

“This could basically end up in carjacking or robbery,” Aktoprak said. “There is not only concern for the safety and security of the personnel, but also the goods because they may use this chaos as a means to steal.”

Longtime tribal warfare has cast doubt on the official estimate that almost 4,000 people were living in the village when a side of Mount Mungalo fell away.

Source: UN estimates more than 670 killed in Papua New Guinea landslide

The United States and Australia are willing to do more to help displaced civilians infidels in conflict zones. A joint statement from McMahon

According to Justine McMahon, the country director of the humanitarian agency, moving survivors to more stable ground and providing them with food, water and shelter was an immediate priority. The military was in charge.

The United States and Australia, both close to each other, have publicly stated their willingness to do more to help responders.