Body recovery called off at Papua New Guinea landslide site [Video]

The bodies of hundreds of villagers feared buried in Papua New Guinea landslide will not be recovered, the military said Wednesday, describing recovery operations as “too dangerous”.

“All efforts to recover bodies have been called off because of the danger”, Major Joe Aku told AFP, citing the risk of further landslides.

“Recovery is non-negotiable at this stage,” he said, dashing survivors’ hopes of recovering loved ones.

Aku — one of the leading military officers overseeing the site — declared the highland disaster area a “no-go zone”.

It will be cordoned off to the community and authorities until further notice.

Papua New Guinea’s government estimates 2,000 people may have been buried in a 600 metre-long (2,000 feet) mountain of soil and boulders that engulfed a remote community in Enga province.

Aku said the toll could be closer to 650. Make-shift recovery efforts unearthed just nine bodies, according to local health authorities.

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