The National Disaster Centre in Papua New Guinea has reported that over 2,000 people were buried alive in a massive landslide that occurred on Friday.
Papua New Guinea, an island nation in Oceania located in the southwestern Pacific, encompasses the eastern half of New Guinea and several offshore islands.
The landslide struck Yambali village around 3 a.m. on Friday, catching most of the community while they were asleep.
It is estimated that at least 150 people are buried under debris nearly two stories high.
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Survivors have been sifting through the tons of earth and rubble in search of missing relatives.
In a letter to the UN released on Monday, Luseta Laso Mana, the acting director of the agency, detailed the urgent need for assistance.
“The landslide buried more than 2,000 people alive” and caused “major destruction” at Yambali village in the Enga province.
The UN International Organisation for Migration (IOM) estimated that as at Sunday morning, 670 people had died.
The delivery of heavy equipment and aid has been delayed due to the challenging accessibility of the area.
