Port Moresby: The military on Wednesday described the disaster zone as “dangerous” to operate in Papua New Guinea, fearing hundreds of residents buried in Papua New Guinea landslides may not recover.
“All efforts to recover the body are in jeopardy,” said Major Joe Aku. “Recovery talks are not possible at this time.”
Aku, one of the military officers monitoring the area, said the mountainous area will be cordoned off to the public and authorities until further notice.
“It’s too dangerous to be there now.
Papua New Guinea is one of the most disaster-prone regions in the world, and landslides are very common in the highlands.
An initial estimate by Papua New Guinea’s government said as many as 2,000 people may have been buried in the May 24 slide, but Aku said the number could be closer to 650.
According to local health authorities, only nine bodies have been recovered.
An internal report from Papua New Guinea’s mining and geohazards department, obtained by AFP on Tuesday, warned about the “high probability of landslides” here “in the future”.
The report concluded that “any access to the area should be restricted to specialists”.
Local authorities estimate that 7,849 people live in the two wards affected by the disaster.
I said many of these people have been evacuated and rely on help from agencies or partner countries to survive.
He said he was talking to the community and local authorities about a possible memorial for those “buried under the rubble”.
