Search for 2,000 missing people underway in landslide-hit Papua New Guinea

By Serdar Dincel

ISTANBUL (AA) – Rescue and search operations in Papua New Guinea continued Wednesday to locate 2,000 missing persons after the nation was hit by devastating landslides in Enga province.

People are using “shovels, sticks and their bare hands to identify bodies and survivors,” ABC News reported.

Residential areas were hit by landslides at around 3:00 a.m. (1700GMT Thursday) on Friday, burying homes, infrastructure and farmland under up to eight meters of soil and debris.

To aid rescue efforts, Australia has dispatched two aircraft with emergency supplies, in addition to a 16-strong team of disaster relief specialists to assist the recovery efforts.

International Organization for Migration (IOM) said the incident was “one of the deadliest disasters in the country’s recent history.”

Thousands of people have lost their homes and belongings in “the blink of an eye,” said Serhan Aktoprak, IOM chief of mission in Papua New Guinea, adding: "The scale of this disaster is truly heartbreaking."

He said more than 150 houses were buried in Yambali village alone.