Papua New Guinea experienced a catastrophic landslide on Friday, with more than 2,000 residents believed to have been buried alive.
The acting director of the South Pacific island nation’s National Disaster Center, Luseta Laso Mana, confirmed this figure and appealed for more international help, according to the Associated Press (AP).
Unlike government officaials, the United Nations estimated that 670 people were killed by the landslide in the mountainous interior of the South Pacific island nation.
Serhan Aktoprak, the chief of the U.N. migrant agency’s mission in Papua New Guinea, commented on the discrepancy in figures, stating, “We are not able to dispute what the government suggests but we are not able to comment on it.”
“As time goes on in such a massive undertaking, the number will remain fluid,” Aktoprak added.
Papua New Guinea is an island country that lies in the south-western Pacific. It includes the eastern half of New Guinea and many small offshore islands.
