60 dikhuatiri maut

[highway]

Cetak E-mel
25 Januari 2012 | Terakhir dikemaskini pada 03:44
60 takut mati dalam kejadian tanah runtuh Papua
0 comments
Port Moresby: Sebanyak 60 orang dikhuatiri mati selepas kejadian tanah runtuh besar-besaran dihapuskan seluruh kampung di tempat kejadian "kemusnahan gelita" di Papua New Guinea, laporan dan pekerja-pekerja bantuan berkata hari ini.
lanslide

Orang yang berjalan di atas tanah runtuh dan di atas jalan raya pada Nogoli hari ini. Kejadian tanah runtuh itu melanda dua kampung di Papua New Guinea pada hari Selasa, meliputi sebahagian besar penempatan di dalam lumpur. - Reuters photo
tanah runtuh Papua

Selepas kejadian tanah runtuh dilihat dalam gambar ini dari udara yang diambil di Nogoli, Papua New Guinea. - Reuters photo
tanah runtuh Papua

Pandangan udara menunjukkan tanah runtuh yang melanda kampung-kampung di rantau Highlands Selatan pergunungan tengah Papua New Guinea pada hari Selasa. Media tempatan melaporkan Rabu bahawa berpuluh-puluh badan telah pulih. - AP

Bencana itu terjadi dekat gas projek ExxonMobil besar asli cecair dalam Highlands berceranggah selatan negara pada hari Selasa sebagai orang yang tidur, meninggalkan jejak kemusnahan.

PNG media berkata, 40 mayat telah pulih dan 20 orang lagi masih hilang.

Pengarah Pusat Bencana Kebangsaan PNG, Martin Mosi, berkata ia muncul kehidupan telah hilang tetapi dia tidak dapat mengesahkan berapa ramai.

"Nombor-nombor itu berubah-ubah dan mereka harus disahkan, tetapi ya, ada dengan baik boleh menjadi mangsa," katanya kepada AFP.

Kakitangan dari jawatannya terbang ke tempat kejadian dengan helikopter untuk membantu menyelaraskan operasi mencari dan memberi gambaran yang lebih jelas bencana.

"Ia adalah satu kejadian tanah runtuh yang besar dan ia meliputi kawasan yang besar di mana terdapat digunakan untuk dusun kecil, jadi kami menjangkakan bilangan kematian," tambah Mosi.

Perdana Menteri negara Pasifik Peter O'Neill juga bergegas ke tapak, berhampiran Tari, menawarkan sokongan dan melihat apa yang bantuan dapat diberikan, kata seorang pegawai di pejabat beliau pagi Rabu.

Nanduka Yandi, bantuan untuk pekerja yang berpangkalan di AS NGO Perkhidmatan Penduduk Antarabangsa, di tempat kejadian tanah runtuh tidak lama lagi selepas ia berlaku pada hari Selasa dan berkata ramai orang terbunuh, dengan beberapa melarikan diri kebinasaan.

"Ia benar-benar besar. Ia meliputi 42 buah rumah dan hanya tiga atau empat orang berjaya melarikan diri. Orang lain meninggal dunia, "katanya kepada AFP melalui telefon.

"Ia agak jauh dan hari ini terdapat hampir tidak sesiapa di sini untuk menggali badan-badan atau orang-orang membantu. Orang yang kehilangan seluruh keluarga mereka. Mereka berada dalam kejutan. "Beliau menyifatkan tempat kejadian sebagai" kemusnahan gelita ". "Tan lumpur dan batu-batu besar telah turun. Ia memusnahkan seluruh kawasan. "Beliau menceritakan bagaimana salah satu pemilik rumah tetamu tidak berada di rumahnya pada masa itu dan kembali untuk mencari isteri, anak-anak dan ibu dan bapa semua hilang.

Satu pukulan udara bencana menunjukkan lumpur dan serpihan lain yang melanjutkan untuk sekurang-kurangnya satu kilometer (setengah batu) di seluruh kawasan hutan.

Yandi berkata ia telah hujan di kawasan tersebut pada masa itu, walaupun beberapa penduduk tempatan yang dipetik oleh media mendakwa kejadian tanah runtuh itu adalah disebabkan oleh letupan di kuari berhampiran.

Jurucakap ExxonMobil berkata, semua kakitangan telah diambil kira dan ia berada dalam hubungan yang rapat dengan Pusat Bencana Alam.

 

[highway]

25 January 2012 | Last updated at 03:44PM
60 feared dead in Papua landslide
0 comments
PORT MORESBY: As many as 60 people are feared dead after a massive landslide wiped out an entire village in a scene of “utter devastation” in Papua New Guinea, reports and aid workers said today.
lanslide

People walk over a landslide and on a road in Nogoli yesterday. The landslide swept through two villages in Papua New Guinea on Tuesday, covering much of the settlements in mud. -- Reuters photo
papua landslide

The aftermath of a landslide is seen in this aerial picture taken in Nogoli, Papua New Guinea. -- Reuters photo
papua landslide

An aerial view shows a landslide that struck villages in the Southern Highlands mountainous region of central Papua New Guinea on Tuesday. Local media reported Wednesday that dozens of bodies have been recovered. -- AP picture
1 / 3
The disaster struck near a huge ExxonMobil liquefied natural gas project in the country’s rugged Southern Highlands on Tuesday as people slept, leaving a trail of destruction.

PNG media said 40 bodies had been recovered and another 20 people were still missing.

The director of PNG’s National Disaster Centre, Martin Mosi, said it appeared lives had been lost but he could not verify how many.

“The numbers are fluctuating and they need to be verified, but yes, there could very well be casualties,” he told AFP.

Staff from his office were flying to the scene by helicopter to help coordinate the rescue operation and provide a clearer picture of the disaster.

“It was a big landslide and it covered a big area where there used to be small hamlets, so we are expecting a number of deaths,” Mosi added.

The Pacific nation’s Prime Minister Peter O’Neill also rushed to the site, near Tari, to offer support and see what help could be provided, an official in his office said Wednesday morning.

Nanduka Yandi, an aid worker for US-based NGO Population Services International, was at the scene of the landslide soon after it happened on Tuesday and said many people were killed, with few escaping the carnage.

“It was really huge. It covered 42 houses and only three or four people managed to escape. Everyone else died,” he told AFP by telephone.

“It is quite remote and yesterday there was hardly anyone here to dig out the bodies or help people. People lost their entire families. They are in shock.” He described the scene as “utter devastation”. “Tonnes of mud and huge stones came down. It destroyed the whole area.” He recounted how one guest house owner was not in his home at the time and returned to find his wife, children and mother and father all missing.

An aerial shot of the disaster showed mud and other debris extending for at least one kilometre (half a mile) across a forested area.

Yandi said it had been raining in the area at the time, although some locals quoted by the media claimed the landslide was caused by blasting at a nearby quarry.

A spokeswoman for ExxonMobil said all its personnel were accounted for and it was in close contact with the Natural Disaster Centre.