Landslide in Papua New Guinea kills 15 gold miners, children
A landslide in Papua New Guinea’s Central Province buried alive 15 people, including 3 children, on December 28.
The horrific incident occurred between 4 and 5 a.m. Heavy rains triggered a large movement of mud, trees and logs which engulfed a makeshift long hut at the base of a hill. Makeshift rescue efforts were unsuccessful, after people attempted to dig through the mud using only shovels and sticks.
Bodies recovered from the landslide (Credit: Central Province administration)
News of the disaster took more than a day to emerge due to the remoteness and inaccessibility of Saki village, in Central Province’s Goilala District. With no mobile phone coverage and no roads, access requires a helicopter trip or a two hour walk. The area is only around 100 kilometres north of the country’s capital Port Moresby the lack of basic transport and communication infrastructure reflects the enormous poverty in the former Austr
Local MP William Samb said the camp in Goilala was buried as miners slept early Monday. Unfortunately there are no survivors from what we hear, Samb told ABC, Australia s national broadcaster. Sadly they were all buried alive.
Officials said the exact death toll was unclear, but two bodies had so far been recovered and up to 15 were feared dead.
The group was panning a riverbed for gold.
Heavy rain and a lack of equipment had hampered local rescuers attempting to dig through the mud.
Better tools and supplies were being flown in to help the recovery effort, with the Governor of the Central Province, Robert Agarobe, expected to arrive Thursday to help assess the damage.
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Disaster response officials will fly to the site of a landslide in Papua New Guinea s Central Province where as many as 10 people are believed to have been buried alive.
A landslide early on Monday morning buried a group of people alive but officials haven t been able to confirm the exact number of people involved.
The people were part of an informal alluvial mining camp.
Provincial Governor Robert Agarobe said army specialists may need to be called in to clear the fallen earth which has created a dam. If the dam builds up and it breaks it will cause more damage downstream, he said.