A government official from Papua New Guinea has asked the United Nations for help after more than 2,000 people were buried alive in a landslide on Friday.
The government says about three times as many people died in the landslide in the mountainous part of the South Pacific island nation than the UN thought. Only six bodies have been found.
The head of the National Disaster Center in a South Pacific island wrote a letter to the United Nations saying that a landslide in Yambali village buried over 2,000 people and caused a lot of damage.
The number of people hurt or killed in the disaster has been hard to figure out because different sources are giving different numbers. It’s not clear how officials came up with the count.
The International Organization for Migration is working with the government and leading the international response. They have not changed their estimated death toll of 670 until they have new evidence.
“We can’t argue with what the government says, but we can’t give our opinion on it,” said Serhan Aktoprak, the head of the UN migrant agency’s mission in Papua New Guinea.
“As we continue with this huge project, the number of people involved may change,” Aktoprak explained.
The death toll of 670 was estimated by Yambali village and Enga provincial officials. They counted more than 150 homes buried by the landslide. The old prediction was 60 houses.
Prime Minister James Marape’s office didn’t answer on Monday when asked to explain where the government’s estimate of 2,000 came from. Marape said he will share information about how much damage and loss of life there is, when he knows more.
It’s hard to figure out how big the disaster is because the village is far away and there’s no good way to communicate. There’s also fighting between tribes in the area, so it’s not safe for aid workers to go there without military protection.
At least 26 tribal fighters and hired soldiers died in a fight between two fighting tribes in Enga in February, along with an unknown number of innocent people.
The national government doesn’t have accurate information about how many people might be dead, which makes it harder to figure out.
The government thinks that about 10 million people live in Papua New Guinea, but a study by the UN using satellite photos of rooftops suggests there could be as many as 17 million people in 2022. The country has not had a correct count of its population in many years.
The landslide covered a 650-foot section of the province’s main road with 20 to 26 feet of debris, making it difficult for rescue workers to pass through.
Mana said the landslide would have a big effect on the country’s economy.
“The ground keeps moving, which makes the situation not safe for the rescue teams and survivors,” Mana told the United Nations.
A local builder gave an excavator to the villagers on Sunday. It is the first big machine to help them find bodies, as they have been using shovels and farming tools for digging. Navigating through the moving debris is dangerous.
Mana and Papua New Guinea’s defense minister, Billy Joseph, took an Australian military helicopter from the capital Port Moresby to Yambali, which is 600 kilometers (370 miles) away, to see directly what is needed.
Mana’s office shared a picture of him giving a check for 500,000 kina (US$130,000) to a local official at Yambali. The money will be used to buy emergency supplies for 4,000 people who had to leave their homes.
The visit was to see if Papua New Guinea’s government needed to ask for more help from other countries.
Heavy vehicles used by Papua New Guinea’s military were being taken to the disaster area, which is 400 kilometers (250 miles) away from the east coast city of Lae.
Upset villagers can’t agree on whether it’s okay for big machines to dig up and possibly hurt the bodies of their buried family members, officials said.
Tag: Papua New Guinea
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Over 2,000 people reportedly buried by a landslip in Papua New Guinea
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Papua New Guinea ambush: Numerous people shot dead in the Highlands
Many people died in a fight between tribes in a far away area of Papua New Guinea, according to the government.
The people were killed in a surprise attack in Enga province last weekend, as said by a police spokesman.
The Highlands area has had a lot of violence for a long time, but people think these killings are the worst in a long time.
More illegal guns have been coming in, making fights more dangerous and causing more violence.
Officials first said that at least 64 people have died. But then, new information came out and they realized they had counted wrong. They changed the number to 26. The media has requested the Papua New Guinea police to confirm something.
The police are gathering up the bodies at the place close to Wabag, which is about 600km away from the capital Port Moresby.
“This is the biggest killing I have ever seen in Enga, and maybe in all of the Highlands as well,” said Acting Superintendent George Kakas of the Royal Papua New Guinea Constabulary to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC).
We are all very sad and mentally tired. “It’s really difficult to understand. ”
The police got some really disturbing videos and pictures that supposedly came from the crime scene. They showed dead bodies being put onto a truck. This is according to the news.
A fight between different groups in Enga got worse and worse, mainly because of arguments about land and money. This led to a three-month lockdown in July, where the police set a time when people had to stay inside and made rules about traveling.
Last August, the violence was big news around the world when a video showing three dead men started circulating on the internet.
Governor Peter Ipatas told ABC that there were signs that fighting was going to happen before the ambush.
He said that with 17 different tribes fighting, it was the security forces’ job to make sure there was no more fighting.
“From a smaller area, we knew there would be a fight and we told the police last week so they could stop it from happening. ”
Safety is still a big worry for PNG. Last month, the government said there was a big problem after riots and looting caused at least 15 deaths.
Australia, a close friend of the country, said they were very upset about the news of the killings.
“We’re giving a lot of help, especially for training police officers and for security in Papua New Guinea,” Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said in a radio interview on Monday. -
At least 15 dead after deadly riots and looting in Papua New Guinea
At least 15 people have died in big fights in Papua New Guinea, and a 14-day state of emergency was declared.
Prime Minister James Marape said on Thursday that more than 1,000 troops are ready to help wherever they are needed.
Stores and cars were burned and supermarkets were robbed, because police went on strike on Wednesday because they were not happy with their pay.
This comes after more problems in the country with prices going up and not many jobs available.
“Mr Marape said in a speech to the nation on Thursday that breaking the law doesn’t lead to the results you want. ”
By Wednesday evening, the violence had calmed down because soldiers and police started working again. But the prime minister said that things were still not calm.
Port Moresby General Hospital said 8 people died in the city and 7 people died in the city of Lae.
People from the outskirts of the capital city started to steal from shops and cause more damage because there were no police around, according to locals who spoke to the BBC.
“We have seen a lot of fighting in our city, something that has never happened before in the history of our city and our country,” National Capital District Governor Powes Parkop said in a radio talk on Wednesday, according to a Reuters report.
He said that most of the looting was done by people who were taking advantage of the situation. The police also used violence during the demonstration.
The police and other public workers got upset and went on strike outside parliament because they found out their pay had been cut by up to 50% in their recent paychecks.
Mr Marape said that the pay cut was a mistake caused by a computer problem. It took up to $100 (£78) from the paychecks of public servants. He said they will fix the mistake in next month’s payments.
However, many protesters did not agree with this response. Some of them then attempted to enter the parliament building. There are videos showing people setting a car on fire outside the prime minister’s home and breaking through a gate.
Many people on social media said that the government was raising income taxes, but the government said this was not true.
Mr Marape said that wrong information spread on social media and people used the opportunity of police not being around.
Maholopa Laveil, who lives in Port Moresby, told the BBC that some people took advantage of the situation and robbed the city. They set fire to many buildings and small stores and also stole cars. The most violence happened during the day.
“We were really scared for the people working in the shopping centers and offices. The people attacking and entering the shops seemed very happy and excited,” he said.
Mr Laveil, an economics teacher at the University of Papua New Guinea, also mentioned that many of the people stealing things seem to be from the poorer areas outside the city.
“They arrived when they found out the police were not controlling the city anymore. ”
“These neighborhoods have a lot of poor people who don’t have jobs and who commit a lot of crime and chaos in the city. ” A lot of people who don’t have a job are struggling because prices are going up. They are going to shops nearby to try and get what they need.
Ambulance workers said they helped many people hurt in a shooting, and the US embassy said there were gunshots near its building.
The Chinese embassy has told the PNG government that some Chinese businesses were attacked and two Chinese people were hurt.
“The Chinese Embassy in Papua New Guinea has complained to the government of Papua New Guinea about the attacks on Chinese-owned shops,” the embassy said on WeChat.
The prime minister is under a lot of pressure from different groups in society because the country’s economy is not doing well. There are more inflation and unemployment rates.
The other political party is preparing to vote to say they don’t trust Mr. It will happen in February.
“Many families are struggling, there is more unfairness in cities, especially in the main city, and there are more places where people live and a lot of crime,” Mr. Laveil explained
“All of those things together caused a really bad situation. “ -
Armed group has freed its final three prisoners – Papua Prime Minister
According to Papua New Guinea’s Prime Minister James Marape, all of the captives who had been taken prisoner by armed criminals in a remote area had been released.
Marape said on Facebook that the remaining three hostages had been successfully returned through covert operations without any (ransom) being paid. “We apologise to the families of those seized as hostages for ransom,” Marape said.
A group of heavily armed men had taken four hostages, including foreign nationals and local tour guides, but one of them, a lady, was released on Wednesday. On Monday, national police had referred to the individuals as “opportunists.”
In a tweet on Sunday, New Zealand’s foreign minister Nanaia Mahuta welcomed the release of the group, which included a New Zealander who is a professor at an Australian university.
PNG Police Commissioner David Manning had previously said the hostage-takers had spotted the group “by chance” and taken them into the bush.
“These are opportunists that have obviously not thought this situation through before they acted, and have been asking for cash to be paid,” Manning said.
Papua New Guinea, a Pacific nation of more than 9 million people, shares an island with the restive Indonesian region of Papua.
In a separate incident earlier this month, a New Zealand pilot was taken hostage by separatist fighters in Papua. Identified by local police as Philip Mehrtens, the pilot was captured after landing a commercial Susi Air charter flight at Paro Airport in the remote highlands of the Nduga regency.
The group previously demanded that all incoming flights to Paro Airport be stopped and said the pilot would not be released until the Indonesian government acknowledged Papuan independence.