RSIPF attends to tragic land slide report in Gizo WP

Officers of the Royal Solomon Islands Police Force (RSIPF) in Gizo, Western Province early today (10 September 2019) responded to a report of a landslide incident that occurred at the Gizo Correctional Service of Solomon Islands (CSSI) facility in the Malakerava area between 7 and 7:30 am on 10 September 2019.

Provincial Police Commander (PPC) Western Province Chief Superintendent Mathias Lenialu says, “We have experienced bad weather since the weekend but last night we experienced really heavy rain.”

“This morning we received a report of a landslide at the CSSI area and attended to it. The house was occupied by a senior officer of the CSSI and was situated along the hillside. We were told that there were two people trapped inside the house,” says PPC Lenialu.

“At the scene we managed to rescue a teenage daughter trapped in the bathroom of the house but sadly we found the body of the mother under the house which was filled with mud from the landslide. She was pronounced dead by a medical doctor at the scene.”

PPC Lenialu adds: “Currently the father, who had sustained head injuries during the tragic incident and her daughter are under medical care but are in a stable condition at the Gizo Hospital. The family’s two sons escaped the incident.”

“I would like to thank members of the public, officers of the CSSI and my officers for the dedication and work done to rescue the daughter and the retrieval of her mother’s body,” says PPC Lenialu

“On behalf of all the police officers in the Western province I would like to convey our sincere condolences to the family and relatives for the loss of their beloved wife and mother.”

PPC Lenialu calls on all people in the Western Province including boat travellers to take extra precaution as the Province continues to experience bad weather.