The International Organization for Migration has updated the estimated death toll from the catastrophic landslide in Papua New Guinea to over 670, as hopes for finding any survivors dwindle.
According to Serhan Aktoprak, head of the U.N. migration agency’s mission in the region, the new figures come from local assessments indicating that more than 150 homes were engulfed by the landslide, a significant increase from the initial estimate of 60 homes.
By Sunday, the only remains recovered were five bodies and a leg, with rescue efforts hampered by the challenging terrain and lack of heavy machinery until an excavator was provided by a local builder.
Efforts to aid survivors have been complicated by ongoing threats from unstable ground and tribal conflicts common in the Papua New Guinea Highlands. Relief teams have been relocating survivors to safer areas as approximately 250 additional houses have been deemed unsafe due to shifting earth.
