22/04/2024
23/04/24
SIKOLA - THE STORY TO REMEMBER
By ENNIO KUBLE
On 20th April, a convoy of vehicles and trucks took the Gumine road in Simbu at Omkolai in an emergency style and passed through Sikola, the major landslip area that took the lives of 10 people, among them a pregnant mother.
The Sikola story of the landslip along the Gumine road began on the dawn of 13th March 2024 and will remain with the people of Gumine, and the immediate relatives of the deceased of the Kobilkane clan of Goreku tribe, Digine Local Level Government.
In the leadup, Simbu experienced heavy rainfalls for two months, and the soil on the slopes has soaked and loosened up.
The soil, rocks, trees, and plants on the northern end of the Sikola slope waved down at around 6:00 am, and in seconds, according to an eye-witness living on the other side of the Sikola River, washed out the homes of two families and a tipper truck, just on the roadside.
“Ol traipela yar diwai isanap na ikam daun (the big casuarina trees slide down without falling),” the witness said.
In the picture (insert), the slip ran through about 200 meters downhill, the velocity pushed everything on its way into the river gorge. The gorge, before the slip was about 50 meters deep.
The debris filled up the river gorge and the impact knocked the land on the other side of the road crossing over the bridge to slip as well.
According to the Engineer working on the Sikola landslip, Ali Junior Kee, the debris was about one million cubic tons, rose to a height of 40 meters from the base of the road, and spread out to about 100 meters.
With this load of debris, it took three excavators, a dump truck, and a front loader to remove the rocks, trees, mud, and water, and through that effort, gradual approaches were taken to retrieve the bodies of the 10 people, among them the pregnant mother.
The work to clear the road and to retrieve the bodies was started by the Governor of Simbu Noah Kool on 20th March, and on 15th April the search and rescue operation for the bodies was called off by the health authority, and on 20th April, all work on the Gumine road slips were cleared, and allowed vehicles back on the road.
Gumine would always remember the 10 and the unborn child as they move along Sikola.
According to the Sikola Disaster Committee chairman Clement Bruno, the missing persons were from two families.
Mr Bruno said the first was from John K*m family, John himself was lucky to escape, but badly injured and battered, lost his entire family to the massive debris.
John’s three wives, included the pregnant wife, and five children, the eldest daughter aged 12 who was in Grade 5 at Gaima Primary School and the Class Head Girl, and three sons aged seven, five, and two with another daughter aged two. The children are all from the three mothers.
The second family is from Michael Wai, who survived the landslip but lost his family which included his wife, and his infant son three weeks old.
Kobilkane chief, Abba Bruno said it was a sad day for his people as young lives were lost, even the mothers were under 40 years of age.
In the place of the missing people, a monument with eleven headstones with descriptions will be the story of the tragedy of loss to the Kobilkane.
Simbu Provincial Disaster Committee deputy chairman Chris Mondo expressed his sorrow for such a loss of young lives and said the Simbu Provincial Government will put up the monument and the headstones in remembrance of the 10, and the unborn child who were buried in the landslip and remained at large to date.
Ends.