Survivors of Papua New Guinea's fatal landslide sleep over their loved ones' 'mass grave'

By Anadolu staff

ANKARA (AA) – Survivors and relatives of those buried alive in the Papua New Guinea landslide are still sleeping on the rocks in the remote Enga Province, media reports said on Friday.

The devastating landslide wiped out the entire community and killed over 2,000 people.

"The national government has declared the landslide zone a burial zone, and people are just leaving around there. (Sleeping on the graves of their loved ones) is what they're doing. They're calling, they're crying," Radio New Zealand quoted a community leader Miok Michael as saying.

"If there is a relocation plan, then there is no proper communication and awareness of that plan to the affected people," he said, adding that the majority of those affected are women and children.

Last month, the Papua New Guinea government announced that the affected residents would be relocated away from the hazardous site of a massive landslide that killed over 2,000.

Prime Minister James Marape has said the 7,849 people affected by the Mulitaka disaster will be evacuated to a temporary location in Enga province.

Geotechnical assessments conducted by experts from New Zealand and Australian defense forces observed that the disaster zone remained unstable.

The experts recommended evacuation and infrastructure changes in the region, including the construction of a new bypass road, because the current road, which is buried under rubble, is still vulnerable to future landslides.

The pre-dawn landslide occurred on May 24, burying homes, infrastructure, and farmland under up to eight meters of soil and debris. The Oceanian government has estimated that more than 2,000 people were buried under the soil.

*Writing by Islamuddin Sajid