India to send $1 million aid to landslide-hit Papua New Guinea

Papua New Guinea ordered thousands of residents to evacuate from the path of a still-active landslide which began on Friday after parts of a mountain collapsed burying at least 2,000 people, according to government estimates. The UN has pegged the possible toll at 670.

Following the landslide, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday expressed his deep condolences and conveyed India’s readiness to extend all possible support and assistance to Port Moresby.

What has happened in Papua New Guinea

A catastrophic landslide levelled dozens of homes and buried families alives in a remote village in the isolated Enga province of Papua New Guinea on 24 May 2024. The landslide occurred early on Friday in Yambali, a village home to nearly 4,000 people, located 600 kilometers (370 miles) northwest of the capital, Port Moresby.

Massive landslide has buried more than 2,000 people, the Papua New Guinea government said on Monday, as treacherous terrain impeded aid and lowered hopes of finding survivors.

A UN agency put the estimated death toll at more than 670 people on Sunday. The toll is expected to rise as the rescue operation is going on.

Latest developments

As rescue operations entered the fifth day, officials said the odds of finding survivors were slim in the difficult-to-access northern Enga region of the Pacific nation. Residents have been using shovels and their bare hands to search for survivors, Reuters reported. A total of 150 structures were estimated to have been buried by the landslide.

The UN said that immediate needs included clean water, food, clothing, shelter items, kitchen utensils, medicine and hygiene kits and psychosocial support. Provincial authorities have also requested the international community to send engineers to carry out a geohazard assessment.

A state of emergency has been declared across the disaster zone and a neighbouring area, with a combined population of between 4,500 to 8,000, although not all have been ordered to evacuate yet, Enga province disaster committee chairperson Sandis Tsaka said.

Tribal conflict has compounded problems of rescue agencies

A long-running tribal conflict has made it harder for aid workers to access the site. Eight people were killed and 30 houses torched in fighting on Saturday.

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