A Papua New Guinea government official has told the United Nations that more than 2,000 people are believed to have been buried alive by last Friday鈥檚 and has formally asked for international help.
The government figure is roughly triple the U.N. estimate of 670 killed by the landslide in the South Pacific island nation鈥檚 mountainous interior. The remains of only five people had been recovered by Monday, local authorities reported. It was not immediately clear why the tally of six reported on Sunday had been revised down.
In a letter seen by The Associated Press to the United Nations resident coordinator dated Sunday, the acting director of the country鈥檚 National Disaster Center, Luseta Laso Mana, said the landslide 鈥渂uried more than 2,000 people alive鈥� and caused 鈥渕ajor destruction鈥� in Yambali village in Enga province.
Estimates of the casualties have varied widely since the disaster occurred, and it was not immediately clear how officials arrived the number of people affected.
The International Organization for Migration, which is working closely with the government and taking a leading role in the international response, has not changed its estimated death toll of 670 released on Sunday, pending new evidence.
鈥淲e are not able to dispute what the government suggests but we are not able to comment on it,鈥� said Serhan Aktoprak, chief of the U.N. migrant agency鈥檚 mission in Papua New Guinea.
鈥淎s time goes in such a massive undertaking, the number will remain fluid,鈥� Aktoprak added.
The death toll of 670 was based on calculations by Yambali village and Enga provincial officials that more than 150 homes had been buried by the landslide. The previous estimate had been 60 homes.
The office of Papua New Guinea Prime Minister did not respond Monday to a request for an explanation of what the government estimate of 2,000 was based on. Marape has promised to release information about the scale of the destruction and loss of life when it becomes available.
Determining the scale of the disaster is difficult because of challenging conditions on the ground, including the village鈥檚 remote location, a lack of telecommunications and tribal warfare throughout the province which means international relief workers and aid require military escorts.
At least 26 tribal warriors and mercenaries were killed in a between two warring tribes in Enga in February, as well as an unconfirmed number of bystanders.
The national government鈥檚 lack of reliable census data also adds to the challenges of determining how many are potentially dead.
The government estimates Papua New Guinea鈥檚 population at around 10 million people, although a U.N. study, based on data including satellite photographs of roof tops, estimated in 2022 it could be as high as 17 million. An accurate census has not been held in the nation in decades.
The landslide also buried a 200-meter (650-foot) stretch of the province鈥檚 main highway under debris 6 to 8 meters (20 to 26 feet) deep, creating a major obstacle for relief workers.
Mana said the landslide would have a major economic impact on the entire country.
An excavator donated by a local builder Sunday became the first piece of heavy earth-moving machinery brought in to help villagers who have been digging with shovels and farming tools to find bodies. Working around the still-shifting debris is treacherous.
鈥淭he situation remains unstable鈥� due to the shifting ground, 鈥減osing ongoing danger to both the rescue teams and survivors alike,鈥� Mana wrote to the United Nations.
Mana and Papua New Guinea鈥檚 defense minister, Billy Joseph, flew on Sunday in an Australian military helicopter from the capital of Port Moresby to Yambali, 600 kilometers (370 miles) to the northwest, to gain a firsthand perspective of what is needed.
Mana鈥檚 office posted a photo of him at Yambali handing a local official a check for 500,000 kina ($130,000) to buy emergency supplies for 4,000 displaced survivors.
The purpose of the visit was to decide whether Papua New Guinea鈥檚 government needed to officially request more international support.
Earth-moving equipment used by Papua New Guinea鈥檚 military was being transported to the disaster scene, 400 kilometers (250 miles) from the east coast city of Lae.
Traumatized villagers are divided over whether heavy machinery should be allowed to dig up and potentially further damage the bodies of their buried relatives, officials said.
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