TWO people are dead and others admitted in hospital with injuries after their vehicles plunged into a washed-away section of the Highlands Highway in Southern Highlands.
The gorge was created when floodwaters washed away a culvert near Yombi Village last Friday afternoon.
The villagers had tried to warn the drivers about the danger ahead but were ignored. The national highway between Mendi, in Southern Highlands, and Mt Hagen, in Western Highlands, is cut off at Yombi village in Imbonggu district.
Light vehicles are using the Kendal feeder road as a detour.
Mendi police station commander Inspector Peter Buka told The National that the villagers had tried to warn motorists about the portion of the road washed away.
But the driver of a vehicle travelling from Kutubu to Mt Hagen might have thought it was an illegal roadblock and ignored the warning.
“The driver drove at speed and successfully negotiated the barricade. But it was too late to apply the brakes when he saw the ditch,” Mr Buka said.
“As a result, two people died and others were injured. Another vehicle travelling from Western Highlands to Southern Highlands ended in the ditch. The driver thought that people had set up a roadblock to demand money from vehicle owners. But they were trying to alert them that there was danger ahead.”
Mr Buka visited the area last Saturday and was told by locals that the culvert was weak and not properly constructed.
The gorge is about 40 metres wide and 30 metres deep.
