Bodies of woman, child found floating in river after landslip

By JIMMY KALEBE
THE bodies of a woman and a child have been found floating in the river following a landslide near a village in Bulolo, Morobe last Wednesday.
Bulolo district chief executive officer Joe Paru said the villagers would continue looking for another child still missing.
The landslide occurred at Hekeng village in the Mumeng local level government, sweeping away two adults and six children living in a makeshift house on the early hours of Wednesday.
He said there were 11 people in the house.
Three were rescued, leaving two adults and six children missing. Seven bodies have been found so far.
Paru said the body of the last child must have must have been carried further downriver.
“The bodies of the woman and child were found downstream on the other side of the mountain opposite the location where they were first swept into the river by the landslip,” Paru said.
He commended the efforts of the villagers in looking for the missing eight despite the rainy condition.
Paru warned the villagers to suspend their alluvial mining activities because of the bad weather.
“Those who engage in alluvial mining sometimes dig tunnels into the sides of the mountain – a trap they create for themselves,” he said.
He advised them to move away from the river bank or the side of the mountains.
The Bulolo district development authority has allocated funds to provide relief supplies to the villagers affected.