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At least 2,000 feared dead in Papua New Guinea landslide. These are some challenges rescuers face

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At least 2,000 feared dead in Papua New Guinea landslide. These are some challenges rescuers face
News

News

At least 2,000 feared dead in Papua New Guinea landslide. These are some challenges rescuers face

2024-05-28 08:50 Last Updated At:09:00

BANGKOK (AP) — The Papua New Guinea government said more than 2,000 people are believed to have been buried alive in a landslide in the South Pacific island nation, after the side of a mountain came down in the early hours of Friday morning when the village of Yambali was asleep.

The settlement is located in a restive and remote area in the interior of the poor, rural nation off the northern coast of Australia, making search and rescue efforts complicated and hazardous.

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This May 27, 2024, satellite image provided by Maxar Technologies shows the recent landslide in the Enga region of northern Papua New Guinea that killed hundreds of people and buried part of the Yambali village. (Maxar Technologies via AP)

BANGKOK (AP) — The Papua New Guinea government said more than 2,000 people are believed to have been buried alive in a landslide in the South Pacific island nation, after the side of a mountain came down in the early hours of Friday morning when the village of Yambali was asleep.

This May 27, 2024, satellite image provided by Maxar Technologies shows the recent landslide in the Enga region of northern Papua New Guinea that killed and wounded hundreds of people and buried part of the Yambali village. (Maxar Technologies via AP)

This May 27, 2024, satellite image provided by Maxar Technologies shows the recent landslide in the Enga region of northern Papua New Guinea that killed and wounded hundreds of people and buried part of the Yambali village. (Maxar Technologies via AP)

Villagers use heavy machinery to search through a landslide in Yambali in the Highlands of Papua New Guinea, Sunday, May 26, 2024. The International Organization for Migration feared Sunday the death toll from a massive landslide is much worse than what authorities initially estimated. (Mohamud Omer/International Organization for Migration via AP)

Villagers use heavy machinery to search through a landslide in Yambali in the Highlands of Papua New Guinea, Sunday, May 26, 2024. The International Organization for Migration feared Sunday the death toll from a massive landslide is much worse than what authorities initially estimated. (Mohamud Omer/International Organization for Migration via AP)

In this image supplied by the International Organization for Migration, villagers react after a body was discovered amongst the debris form a landslide in the village of Yambali in the Highlands of Papua New Guinea, Monday, May 27, 2024. (Mohamud Omer/International Organization for Migration via AP)

In this image supplied by the International Organization for Migration, villagers react after a body was discovered amongst the debris form a landslide in the village of Yambali in the Highlands of Papua New Guinea, Monday, May 27, 2024. (Mohamud Omer/International Organization for Migration via AP)

In this image supplied by the International Organization for Migration, villagers search amongst the debris from a landslide in the village of Yambali in the Highlands of Papua New Guinea, Monday, May 27, 2024. (Mohamud Omer/International Organization for Migration via AP)

In this image supplied by the International Organization for Migration, villagers search amongst the debris from a landslide in the village of Yambali in the Highlands of Papua New Guinea, Monday, May 27, 2024. (Mohamud Omer/International Organization for Migration via AP)

In this image supplied by the International Organization for Migration, villagers search amongst the debris from a landslide in the village of Yambali in the Highlands of Papua New Guinea, Monday, May 27, 2024. (Mohamud Omer/International Organization for Migration via AP)

In this image supplied by the International Organization for Migration, villagers search amongst the debris from a landslide in the village of Yambali in the Highlands of Papua New Guinea, Monday, May 27, 2024. (Mohamud Omer/International Organization for Migration via AP)

In this image supplied by the International Organization for Migration, villagers search amongst the debris from a landslide in the village of Yambali in the Highlands of Papua New Guinea, Monday, May 27, 2024. (Mohamud Omer/International Organization for Migration via AP)

In this image supplied by the International Organization for Migration, villagers search amongst the debris from a landslide in the village of Yambali in the Highlands of Papua New Guinea, Monday, May 27, 2024. (Mohamud Omer/International Organization for Migration via AP)

The government death toll is roughly triple the U.N. estimate of 670 killed. The remains of only six people had been recovered so far.

In a letter seen by The Associated Press to the United Nations resident coordinator dated Sunday, the acting director of Papua New Guinea's National Disaster Center Luseta Laso Mana said the landslide “buried more than 2,000 people alive” and caused “major destruction” at Yambali village in the Enga province.

Estimates of the casualties have varied widely since the disaster occurred, and it was not immediately clear how officials arrived the number of people affected.

Here's a look at some of the challenges:

The village of at least 4,000, but believed to be substantially larger, is in a mountainous and forested part of Papua New Guinea's Enga province. It's located alongside a winding highway to the town of Porgera and a mine that has produced billions of dollars of gold but whose security personnel have been accused by rights groups of abuses.

The highway was covered by the landslide, effectively cutting off Porgera and the other villages past Yambali from the provincial capital of Wabag, some 60 kilometers (35 miles) from where the disaster occurred.

Emergency responders have brought aid in from Wabag, but have had to make the final 200 meters (yards) of the journey by foot over the rubble-covered highway.

Debris 6 to 8 meters (20 to 26 feet) deep covering an area the size of three or four football fields was being cleared exclusively by hand with shovels and picks for more than two days, until an excavator donated by a local builder arrived on Sunday.

Survivors have been hesitant to allow heavy machinery to be used, however, because they do not want the bodies of their relatives harmed, said Serhan Aktoprak, the chief of the U.N. migration agency’s mission in Papua New Guinea. The donated excavator was driven away Monday morning, though it's not clear whether that was related to locals' objections or for another reason, he said.

Military engineers with additional heavy equipment are being transported to the disaster scene 400 kilometers (250 miles) from the east coast city of Lae and are expected to arrive Tuesday or Wednesday.

Longtime tribal warfare in Enga province has not relented despite the disaster, meaning that soldiers have had to provide security for the aid convoys heading toward Yambali.

At least 26 men were killed in an ambush in February, and eight more died in a clash between two rival clans on Saturday in a longstanding dispute that's unrelated to the landslide. About 30 homes and five retail businesses were burned down in the fighting, officials said.

Convoys have only been able to travel by daylight due to the security risks, and with a two-hour drive each way, their time on site has been seriously restricted, Aktoprak said in a phone interview from Port Moresby, the country's capital.

Approximately 25 people from the U.N., other agencies and the military have been making the daily journey. On Monday, they reported seeing burning houses and men armed with machetes along the way, Aktoprak said.

Emergency crews also face the threat of an ongoing natural disaster as the earth continues to shift in the disaster zone.

The debris is getting increasingly waterlogged from three streams covered by the landslide, making it dangerous to work on and increasing the possibility it could slide farther downhill. Communities below have already been evacuated, Aktoprak said.

“We have a situation that is getting worse and worse every moment,” he said.

With the disaster ongoing and the rescue efforts still in their early stages, it's hard to know exactly what comes next.

But with all the small farms and food gardens that sustain the village's subsistence farming population destroyed, as well as much of its livestock, it is clear that the survivors of Yambali will need help for some time.

The village is near a river, but residents had relied on the three streams buried by the landslide for their drinking water.

Justine McMahon, country director of the humanitarian agency CARE International, said moving survivors to more stable ground was an immediate priority along with providing them with food, water and shelter. The military was leading those efforts.

In addition to people who have been evacuated from settlements lower than Yambali, Aktoprak said an estimated 6,000 have been affected by the disaster so far. If survivors end up moving to urban areas, “this will trigger additional economic and social problems.”

Porgera and other towns past Yambali on the highway are now cut off and only accessible by helicopter, and it was not immediately clear what assistance people living in those areas may need as well.

The government of Papua New Guinea formally asked Monday for more international help.

The United States and Australia, a near neighbor and Papua New Guinea’s most generous provider of foreign aid, are among governments that have publicly stated their readiness to do more.

Papua New Guinea makes up the eastern half of the island of New Guinea, with the western half belonging to Indonesia. It sits in the Pacific Ocean's so-called “Ring of Fire,” a belt of active volcanoes and frequent earthquakes.

Its population is officially around 10 million, but the U.N. has said there hasn't been a comprehensive census for years and the actual figure could be closer to 17 million.

Associated Press writers Rod McGurk in Melbourne, Australia, and Adam Schreck in Bangkok contributed to this report.

This May 27, 2024, satellite image provided by Maxar Technologies shows the recent landslide in the Enga region of northern Papua New Guinea that killed hundreds of people and buried part of the Yambali village. (Maxar Technologies via AP)

This May 27, 2024, satellite image provided by Maxar Technologies shows the recent landslide in the Enga region of northern Papua New Guinea that killed hundreds of people and buried part of the Yambali village. (Maxar Technologies via AP)

This May 27, 2024, satellite image provided by Maxar Technologies shows the recent landslide in the Enga region of northern Papua New Guinea that killed and wounded hundreds of people and buried part of the Yambali village. (Maxar Technologies via AP)

This May 27, 2024, satellite image provided by Maxar Technologies shows the recent landslide in the Enga region of northern Papua New Guinea that killed and wounded hundreds of people and buried part of the Yambali village. (Maxar Technologies via AP)

Villagers use heavy machinery to search through a landslide in Yambali in the Highlands of Papua New Guinea, Sunday, May 26, 2024. The International Organization for Migration feared Sunday the death toll from a massive landslide is much worse than what authorities initially estimated. (Mohamud Omer/International Organization for Migration via AP)

Villagers use heavy machinery to search through a landslide in Yambali in the Highlands of Papua New Guinea, Sunday, May 26, 2024. The International Organization for Migration feared Sunday the death toll from a massive landslide is much worse than what authorities initially estimated. (Mohamud Omer/International Organization for Migration via AP)

In this image supplied by the International Organization for Migration, villagers react after a body was discovered amongst the debris form a landslide in the village of Yambali in the Highlands of Papua New Guinea, Monday, May 27, 2024. (Mohamud Omer/International Organization for Migration via AP)

In this image supplied by the International Organization for Migration, villagers react after a body was discovered amongst the debris form a landslide in the village of Yambali in the Highlands of Papua New Guinea, Monday, May 27, 2024. (Mohamud Omer/International Organization for Migration via AP)

In this image supplied by the International Organization for Migration, villagers search amongst the debris from a landslide in the village of Yambali in the Highlands of Papua New Guinea, Monday, May 27, 2024. (Mohamud Omer/International Organization for Migration via AP)

In this image supplied by the International Organization for Migration, villagers search amongst the debris from a landslide in the village of Yambali in the Highlands of Papua New Guinea, Monday, May 27, 2024. (Mohamud Omer/International Organization for Migration via AP)

In this image supplied by the International Organization for Migration, villagers search amongst the debris from a landslide in the village of Yambali in the Highlands of Papua New Guinea, Monday, May 27, 2024. (Mohamud Omer/International Organization for Migration via AP)

In this image supplied by the International Organization for Migration, villagers search amongst the debris from a landslide in the village of Yambali in the Highlands of Papua New Guinea, Monday, May 27, 2024. (Mohamud Omer/International Organization for Migration via AP)

In this image supplied by the International Organization for Migration, villagers search amongst the debris from a landslide in the village of Yambali in the Highlands of Papua New Guinea, Monday, May 27, 2024. (Mohamud Omer/International Organization for Migration via AP)

In this image supplied by the International Organization for Migration, villagers search amongst the debris from a landslide in the village of Yambali in the Highlands of Papua New Guinea, Monday, May 27, 2024. (Mohamud Omer/International Organization for Migration via AP)

CALGARY, Alberta (AP) — Lauren Coughlin held onto the lead Friday in the CPKC Women’s Open, while Canadian star Brooke Henderson was derailed by closing bogeys at windy and smokey Earl Grey Golf Club.

Coughlin followed her opening 4-under 68 on Thursday in chilly and windy conditions with a 70 on Friday to get to 6 under, a stroke ahead of Hannah Green and Haeran Ryu. The temperature made it into the 70s after barely climbing into the 60s on Thursday.

“I think I handled it really well overall,” Coughlin said. “It was just really difficult to judge how far the ball was going to go with the wind and the crosswind and how firm the greens got. And they had some tough pins, especially considering the direction of the wind.”

Playing through a smokey haze from wildfires, Henderson bogeyed the final four holes in her afternoon round for a 73 that left her seven strokes back at 1 over. She won the 2018 tournament.

Coughlin is coming off a fourth-place finish two weeks ago in France in the major Evian Champions. The 31-year-old former University of Virginia player is winless on the LPGA Tour.

On Friday, she had three front-none birdies and dropped a stroke on the par-4 11th. In two rounds, she's 7 under on the first nine holes and 1 over on the second nine.

“I putted extremely well,” Coughlin said. “Two-putted really well all day. Took advantage of the front nine, which you have to, and then kind of hold on on the back nine.”

Green matched Coughlin with a 70. The Australian is a two-time winner this year, taking the HSBC Women’s World Championship in Singapore in February and the JM Eagle LA Championship in April.

“It was tough again out there,” Green said. “There was some pretty strong wind gusts, especially our last few holes, so committing to the shot you were envisioning was kind of difficult.”

Ryu bogeyed the 18th for 69.

“The weather is really bad,” Ryu said. “Is a little bit cold and so windy.”

The 23-year-old South Korean player won the Walmart NW Arkansas Championship last year for her first LPGA Tour title. She was second last week in Ohio in the Dana Open.

Three-time champion Lydia Ko had a 71 to join second-ranked Lilia Vu (70) and Jennifer Kupcho (72) at 3 under. Ko won as an amateur in 2012 at age 15, successfully defended her title as an amateur in 2013 and won as a professional in 2015.

“It’s not easy — and I think the scores are showing,” Ko said. “Anything kind of under par the past couple days is a really solid round. I’m pretty happy with the way I started this week.”

Kupcho topped the leaderboard at 8 under after birdieing five of the first eight holes in her morning round, then was 5 over the rest of the way. She had a double bogey on the par-4 16th, four bogeys and a birdie on her final nine holes.

“I’m pretty upset,” Kupcho said. “I think in hindsight I still hit 15 greens. Like I was hitting the ball really good. Three-putted 10 and 11 and four-putted 16. I didn’t play bad. Just had a couple shaky putts down the stretch — and that’s going to happen.”

Lexi Thompson was in the group with Henderson tied for 26th at 1 over after a 73 The American plans to play a limited schedule after this season.

AP golf: https://apnews.com/hub/golf

Lexi Thompson, of the United States, chips on the first hole during the second round at the LPGA Canadian Women's Open golf tournament in in Calgary, Alberta, Friday, July 26, 2024. (Jeff McIntosh /The Canadian Press via AP)

Lexi Thompson, of the United States, chips on the first hole during the second round at the LPGA Canadian Women's Open golf tournament in in Calgary, Alberta, Friday, July 26, 2024. (Jeff McIntosh /The Canadian Press via AP)

Jennifer Kupcho, of the United States, watches her tee shot on the fifteenth hole during the second round at the LPGA Canadian Women's Open golf tournament in in Calgary, Alberta, Friday, July 26, 2024. (Jeff McIntosh /The Canadian Press via AP)

Jennifer Kupcho, of the United States, watches her tee shot on the fifteenth hole during the second round at the LPGA Canadian Women's Open golf tournament in in Calgary, Alberta, Friday, July 26, 2024. (Jeff McIntosh /The Canadian Press via AP)

Jennifer Kupcho, of the United States, lines up a putt on the fourteenth green during the second round at the LPGA Canadian Women's Open golf tournament in in Calgary, Alberta, Friday, July 26, 2024. (Jeff McIntosh /The Canadian Press via AP)

Jennifer Kupcho, of the United States, lines up a putt on the fourteenth green during the second round at the LPGA Canadian Women's Open golf tournament in in Calgary, Alberta, Friday, July 26, 2024. (Jeff McIntosh /The Canadian Press via AP)

New Zealand's Lydia Ko hits a tee shot on the first hole during the second round at the LPGA Canadian Women's Open golf tournament in in Calgary, Alberta, Friday, July 26, 2024. (Jeff McIntosh /The Canadian Press via AP)

New Zealand's Lydia Ko hits a tee shot on the first hole during the second round at the LPGA Canadian Women's Open golf tournament in in Calgary, Alberta, Friday, July 26, 2024. (Jeff McIntosh /The Canadian Press via AP)

Korea's Haeran Ryu hits a tee shot on the fourth hole during the second round at the LPGA Canadian Women's Open golf tournament in Calgary, Alberta, Friday, July 26, 2024. (Jeff McIntosh/The Canadian Press via AP)

Korea's Haeran Ryu hits a tee shot on the fourth hole during the second round at the LPGA Canadian Women's Open golf tournament in Calgary, Alberta, Friday, July 26, 2024. (Jeff McIntosh/The Canadian Press via AP)

Canada's Brooke Henderson hits a tee shot on the second hole during the second round at the LPGA Canadian Women's Open golf tournament in Calgary, Alberta, Friday, July 26, 2024. (Jeff McIntosh/The Canadian Press via AP)

Canada's Brooke Henderson hits a tee shot on the second hole during the second round at the LPGA Canadian Women's Open golf tournament in Calgary, Alberta, Friday, July 26, 2024. (Jeff McIntosh/The Canadian Press via AP)

Lauren Coughlin, of the United States, hits from the fairway on the sixth hole during the second round at the LPGA Canadian Women's Open golf tournament in Calgary, Alberta, Friday, July 26, 2024. (Jeff McIntosh/The Canadian Press via AP)

Lauren Coughlin, of the United States, hits from the fairway on the sixth hole during the second round at the LPGA Canadian Women's Open golf tournament in Calgary, Alberta, Friday, July 26, 2024. (Jeff McIntosh/The Canadian Press via AP)

Lauren Coughlin, of the United States, hits a tee shot on the seventh hole during the second round at the LPGA Canadian Women's Open golf tournament in Calgary, Alberta, Friday, July 26, 2024. (Jeff McIntosh/The Canadian Press via AP)

Lauren Coughlin, of the United States, hits a tee shot on the seventh hole during the second round at the LPGA Canadian Women's Open golf tournament in Calgary, Alberta, Friday, July 26, 2024. (Jeff McIntosh/The Canadian Press via AP)

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