VANIMO, Papua New Guinea (AP) — Aftershocks rattled the northern coast of Papua New Guinea on Thursday, nearly a week after waves from an undersea earthquake swept ashore and killed at least 1,200 people.
The tremors were not strong enough to create more deadly tidal surges, and relief workers on the Pacific island nation were able to continue treating hundreds of injured villagers, many suffering gangrene.
About 6,000 of the 8,000 to 10,000 people who used to live in the 18-mile stretch of coast hit by the tsunami last Friday remained missing and were feared dead.
The gruesome task of body recovery and disposal continued Thursday. At least 30 bodies were found washed up on a beach in the Indonesian province of Irian Jaya, about 25 miles west of the disaster zone, local police said, on condition of anonymity.