India on Thursday sent 19 tonnes of humanitarian and disaster relief (HADR) materials to Papua New Guinea's Enga province that was hit by a major landslide. Late last month, India announced a USD 1 million assistance to the island nation in the wake of the landslide. Over 2,000 people were killed in the landslide, according to media reports from that country.
"In the wake of devastating landslide in Enga province of Papua New Guinea, India had announced immediate assistance of USD 1 million to our close FIPIC partner," External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said.
"Pursuant to the announcement, a flight carrying approx 19 tons of HADR supplies departed for Papua New Guinea today," he said. Papua New Guinea is a member of Forum for India-Pacific Islands Cooperation (FIPIC). India has been promoting cooperation with the Pacific island nations through FIPIC.
Over 2,000 buried under the debris
The number of those buried around Yambali village in Enga province in the country's north is based on estimates from local authorities and has been steadily rising since Friday's (May 24) landslide. A UN agency put the estimated death toll at more than 670 people on Sunday. The National Disaster Centre raised the toll again to 2,000 in a letter to the UN on Sunday that was released publicly on Monday.
The International Organisation for Migration's chief of mission in Papua New Guinea, Serhan Aktoprak, said some locals have been reluctant to welcome heavy machinery to remove debris in order to preserve the integrity of the corpses. "To make things worse, there is water flowing underneath the debris and the floor, soil, ground on which the debris sits. So we fear that this mud can turn the ground into a slide,” he added.
(With inputs from agencies)
