More than 670 feared dead in Papua New Guinea landslide, UN agency says
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00:00 At the foot of a mountain in the Enga province of Papua New Guinea, a village lays buried.
00:06 More than 150 homes and hundreds of lives have been lost.
00:10 Locals in shock and mourning have been combing through some 6 to 8 metres of soil in search
00:15 of victims and survivors since the landslide struck on Friday.
00:20 "At around 3 o'clock am, the locals on the ground, the boys right there, they're
00:26 telling me that this is a massive destruction that took place and they were fast asleep
00:30 and all of a sudden the place was covered by rocks."
00:34 By Sunday, only five bodies had been recovered, all adults.
00:39 Water power and major highways were cut off, hampering relief efforts.
00:44 Local authorities were struggling to reach the site, leaving villagers isolated, using
00:48 spades, agricultural forks and items on hand to dig.
00:53 A convoy had travelled from the provincial capital to deliver food and supplies and to
00:58 establish evacuation centres around the debris, with the local UN migration agency saying
01:04 the area was still at risk.
01:06 "Because of the land still sliding, the soil with the pressure on which neighbouring communities
01:20 are built is also pushing the ground and that is also leading to cracks and extreme risk
01:29 and danger for the other houses."
01:31 Engo, which is more than 600km from the capital Port Moresby, is home to several clans and
01:37 farmers.
01:39 Cultural issues are also a factor for relief workers, as tribal warfare is prominent in
01:43 the region and along the main highway to deliver aid.