‘A miracle’: Couple survives Papua New Guinea landslide that ‘buried 2,000’

A couple has been found alive three days after a deadly landslide hit Papua New Guinea (PNG), media reports say, as the government informed the United Nations that more than 2,000 people may be buried under the rubble.

Overnight rains in the South Pacific island’s Enga province on Monday raised fears that the tonnes of rubble that covered the area could become dangerously unstable, hampering rescue efforts.

While emergency crews are at the location, heavy equipment required for the search and rescue is yet to arrive, as the main road remains cut off, with helicopters being the only way to access the affected area.

Only six bodies have been retrieved since the landslide hit on Friday. The UN said the number of possible deaths could change as the rescue efforts are expected to continue for days.

But in a surprise development on Monday, residents rescued a couple after hearing their cries for help.

Johnson and Jacklyn Yandam told PNG’s NBC News network that they were very grateful and described their rescue “as a miracle”.

“We thank God for saving our lives at that moment. We were certain that we were going to die but the big rocks didn’t crush us,” Jacklyn said. “It’s really hard to explain as we got trapped for nearly eight hours, then got rescued. We believe we were saved for a purpose.”

Hopes of finding more survivors, however, are dwindling.