- 'Dark day': Victims mourned around the globe on Oct. 7 anniversary
- On attacks anniversary, Israel fights multi-front war
- Intensifying to Category 5, Hurricane Milton targets Florida
- Biden, Harris mark Oct. 7 with call for Mideast peace
- Dupont set for Toulouse return after post-Olympic holiday
- French rugby bosses tighten discipline after nightmare Argentina tour
- Visitors to get rare view of Rome's Trevi Fountain
- Man City and Premier League both claim victory in legal case
- Deschamps delight as 'light back on' for Pogba after doping ban
- Biden, Harris urge Mideast peace on Oct. 7 anniversary
- Neeskens, tough midfielder in Cruyff's Ajax and Dutch teams
- UN warns world's water cycle becoming ever more erratic
- Oil prices extend gains on Mideast tensions, Wall Street retreats
- Ex-Dutch football star Johan Neeskens dies
- Man Utd battling to improve fortunes, says Evans
- What is microRNA? Nobel-winning discovery explained
- Masood, Abdullah centuries lift Pakistan to 328-4 in first England Test
- Hurricane Milton strengthens fast, threatens Mexico, Florida
- Tunisia's President Saied set for landslide election win
- Barca hoping to return to Camp Nou 'by end of year'
- Trump to open second golf course at Scotland resort in summer 2025
- Super-sub Jhon Duran rewarded with new Aston Villa deal
- US duo win Nobel for gene regulation breakthrough
- Masood hits first ton for four years to power Pakistan to 233-1
- Fritz wins delayed match to reach Shanghai Masters third round
- Naomi Osaka pulls out of Japan Open with back injury
- China to flesh out economic stimulus plans after bumper rally
- Artist Marina Abramovic hopes first China show offers tech respite
- Pakistan 122-1 at lunch in first England Test
- Kazakhs approve plan for first nuclear power plant
- World marks anniversary of Oct. 7 attack on Israel
- 'Second family': tennis stars hunt winning formula with new coaches
- Philippines, South Korea agree to deepen maritime cooperation
- Mexico mayor murdered days after taking office
- Sardinia's sheep farmers battle bluetongue as climate warms
- Japan govt admits doctoring 'untidy' cabinet photo
- Israel marks first anniversary of Hamas's October 7 attack
- Darvish tames Ohtani as Padres thrash Dodgers
- Asian markets track Wall St rally on jobs data
- Family affair as LeBron, Bronny James make Lakers bow
- Cancer, cardiovascular drugs tipped for Nobel as prize week opens
- As Great Salt Lake dries, Utah Republicans pardon Trump climate skepticism
- Amazon activist warns of 'critical situation' ahead of UN forum
- Mourners pay tribute to latest victims of deadly Channel crossing
- Phillies win thriller to level Mets series
- Yu bags first PGA Tour win with playoff win
- PSG held by Nice to leave Monaco clear at top of Ligue 1
- Lewandowski treble for leaders Barca as Atletico held
- Fresh Israeli strikes hit south Beirut
- Sucic stunner earns Real Sociedad draw against Atletico
RBGPF | -1.97% | 58.94 | $ | |
CMSC | -0.2% | 24.65 | $ | |
SCS | -0.7% | 12.88 | $ | |
BCC | 0.48% | 139.569 | $ | |
GSK | 0.06% | 38.845 | $ | |
NGG | -1.28% | 65.66 | $ | |
BCE | -0.33% | 33.6 | $ | |
RIO | -0.13% | 69.61 | $ | |
BTI | -0.02% | 35.284 | $ | |
RYCEF | -1.45% | 6.88 | $ | |
RELX | -0.6% | 46.015 | $ | |
JRI | -0.38% | 13.23 | $ | |
CMSD | -0.09% | 24.79 | $ | |
BP | 0.74% | 33.125 | $ | |
AZN | -0.36% | 77.19 | $ | |
VOD | 0.21% | 9.68 | $ |
More survivors 'unlikely' from Papua New Guinea landslide
It is "very unlikely" more survivors of Papua New Guinea's deadly landslide will be found, a UN agency warned Tuesday, as thousands of residents at risk from further slips were warned to evacuate.
Some 2,000 people are feared buried by a massive landslide that entombed a remote highland community in the early hours of May 24.
For days, locals have been heaving through metres-deep churned-up earth, uprooted trees and car-sized boulders in the search for loved ones -- often using little more than their hands and digging sticks.
But hopes are dimming that anyone is still alive underneath the mountain of earth.
"It is not a rescue mission, it is a recovery mission," UNICEF Papua New Guinea's Niels Kraaier told AFP. "It is very unlikely they will have survived."
Full-scale rescue and relief efforts have been severely hampered by the site's remote location, heavy rainfall, nearby tribal violence and the landslide severing the only road link to the outside world.
Early on Tuesday, Enga provincial administrator Sandis Tsaka warned clumps of limestone, dirt and rock were still shearing off the side of Mount Mungalo.
Tsaka told AFP authorities were trying to coordinate a mass evacuation from two districts that had a total population of about 7,900 people.
"The tragedy is still active," he said. "Every hour you can hear rock breaking -- it is like a bomb or gunshot and the rocks keep falling down."
More than 1,000 people have already been displaced by the catastrophe, aid agencies have estimated.
But many residents have refused to leave at-risk areas because they were holding out hope of finding friends and family.
- 'Wiped out' -
Satellite images show the enormous scale of the disaster.
A 600-metre-long (1970-feet) smear of yellow and grey debris can be seen cutting through once verdant bushland and severing the region's only road.
"This was an area heavily populated with homes, businesses, churches and schools, it has been completely wiped out. It is the surface of the moon -- it is just rocks," said Tsaka.
"People are digging with their hands and fingers," he said, expressing anguish at the government's powerlessness in the face of the challenge.
"I am not equipped to deal with this tragedy," Tsaka admitted.
For days, the Papua New Guinea Defence Forces have struggled to access the site with heavy earth-moving equipment.
Some residents have voiced opposition to the use of heavy machinery, fearing it would desecrate the remains of loved ones.
"They treat their dead bodies as sacred," UN migration agency official Serhan Aktoprak told AFP.
"If excavators come in, an excavator is not going to distinguish between the rubble and a body."
"The last thing that anybody wants to have is a confrontation with the community."
There are also concerns about the impact of the disaster on villages to the west of the landslide that are now cut off from the rest of the world.
UN Development Programme official Nicholas Booth said up to 30,000 people were affected across several communities.
While they have enough supplies for the coming weeks, opening up that road remained essential, he said.
"This landslide has blocked the road westward, so not only are there challenges in accessing the village itself, but it does mean the communities beyond that are also cut off."
- 'Immediate' response -
Papua New Guinea's national disaster centre has told the United Nations that the initial "landslide buried more than 2,000 people alive".
The bodies of only a fraction of that number have been recovered so far.
According to a letter obtained by AFP, the catastrophe required "immediate and collaborative actions from all players", it added, including the army, and national and provincial responders.
Overwhelmed Papua New Guinea authorities held an online emergency meeting with United Nations agencies and international allies Tuesday, hoping to kickstart the relief effort.
Australia has announced millions of dollars worth of aid, including emergency relief supplies such as shelters, hygiene kits and support for women and children.
China's President Xi Jinping and his US counterpart Joe Biden -- more accustomed to scrapping for influence in the strategically located country -- both offered assistance.
Locals said the landslip may have been triggered by recent heavy rains.
Papua New Guinea has one of the wettest climates in the world, and research has found shifting rainfall patterns linked to climate change could exacerbate the risk of landslides.
The estimated death toll has climbed significantly since the disaster struck, as officials reassess the size of the population.
Many people fleeing tribal violence have moved into the area in the past few years.
The area is located about 600 kilometres (370 miles) from Port Moresby.
L.Torres--PC