Over 670 People Died in Massive Papua New Guinea Landslide, UN Estimates

Over 670 People Died in Massive Papua New Guinea Landslide, UN Estimates
Villagers search through a landslide in Yambali, in the Highlands of Papua New Guinea, on May 26, 2024. Mohamud Omer/International Organization for Migration via AP
The Associated Press
Updated:
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MELBOURNE, Australia—The International Organization for Migration on Sunday increased its estimate of the death toll from a massive landslide in Papua New Guinea to more than 670 as emergency responders and traumatized relatives gave up hope that any survivors will now be found.

Serhan Aktoprak, the chief of the U.N. migration agency’s mission in the South Pacific island nation, said the revised death toll was based on calculations by Yambali village and Enga provincial officials that more than 150 homes had been buried by Friday’s landslide. The previous estimate had been 60 homes.