Earthquake survivors from Papua New Guinea were brought to safety

Volunteer rescuers have been performing non-stop airlifts in remote areas of Papua New Guinea to reach victims still stranded two days after a massive 7.6 magnitude earthquake.

The earthquake rattled a wide area of ​​the country’s north and killed at least seven people, but the extent of the disaster is only slowly coming into focus.

At least 389 houses collapsed in the city of Madang alone, according to UN assessors now on the ground.

The casualty toll is expected to rise as ground crews reach other communities.

Maki Igarashi of the International Federation of the Red Cross told AFP it was “very difficult to access most places” due to the remoteness of the affected area.

The earthquake’s epicenter was “in the middle of the jungle,” she said.

With limited public resources, much of the rescue effort has been carried out by small private companies and volunteers.

Pilot Jurgen Ruh, the owner of Manolos Aviation Limited, told AFP he had “lost count” of the number of medical evacuations he had carried out since the earthquake struck on Sunday morning.

“It hasn’t stopped yet,” he said as he prepared to head out for two more medevac flights in the country’s remote highlands.

Of those rescued, “the youngest person was two years old”, Mr Ruh said, adding that the girl, who had a fractured skull, had survived after emergency surgery.

Sir. Ruh said his company had received calls directly from people in need of evacuation, adding that in Papua New Guinea, “if you don’t help yourself, no one will help you”.

Witnesses say the hillside has disappeared

The earthquake was the largest in the Pacific nation since 2002, but has so far claimed far fewer lives than the last major earthquake, which killed 145 people in 2018.

Papua New Guinea authorities have confirmed that all seven deaths were caused by landslides that occurred near Rai Coast, Kambum and Wau, where three miners were killed after being trapped underground.

Sir. Ruh said some of his pilots were lifting a pregnant mother when the quake hit, and when they flew her to safety, “saw the mountainside disappear”.

Ms Igarashi of the Red Cross said internet and power outages in the aftermath of the earthquake had made it difficult to get a full picture of the situation on the ground.

The Ramu hydroelectric plant, located close to the epicenter, was damaged by the earthquake, and internet service has slowed dramatically due to the impact of undersea cables.

AFP