People dig through mud and rocks on 28 May, 2024, after a major landslide in Yambali village in Enga province, Papua New Guinea. Photo: Supplied / World Vision
Papua New Guinea Prime Minister James Marape is visiting the site of the deadly landslide in the Enga Province on today.
The PNG government believes 2000 people remain buried under 6-8 metres of debris, following a landslide which flattened Yambali village on 23 May.
Heavy machinery has arrived at the site and humanitarian aid groups are caring for survivors and over 1650 internally displaced people.
PNG police chief inspector Martin Kelei told RNZ Pacific Marape is expected to be at the site around 11am local time (1pm NZT).
He said people on the ground want the bodies of their loves ones to be retrieved as soon as possible.
"We are still with the same figure of dead bodies that been found - six. Whether it is hundred or it is 2000 no body is sure how many bodies are under the debris," he said.
Pacific Islands Forum chair and Cook Islands prime minister Mark Brown has said the Forum stands ready to assist.
Meanwhile, a UN body says climate change is to blame for an increase in natural disasters in Papua New Guinea.
UN's International Organisation for Migration's PNG representative Sehran Aktoprak said climate impacts in the Pacific must be addressed at COP29, this coming November.
"Perhaps it is now time to start talking about climate change. I don't know if this has been mentioned yet. But I believe this is an alarm," he said.
"Overall, all the natural disasters that Papua New Guinea has been experiencing this year - a lot of flooding, a lot of landslide, and look at this one [Enga landslide]."
