More than 2,000 people killed in Papua New Guinea landslide

PORT MORESBY, Papua New Guinea

Papua New Guinea reported on Monday more than 2,000 people were buried in a massive landslide.

Villagers and rescuers continue to search through the rubble

A once-bustling remote hillside village in the province of Enga was almost completely wiped out when the landslide struck in the early hours of Friday morning.

"The landslide buried more than 2,000 people alive and caused major destruction to buildings, food gardens and caused major impact on the economic lifeline of the country," the national disaster center said in a letter to the UN office in Port Moresby.

Aid workers and villagers continue to brave dangerous conditions while desperately searching for survivors.

Australia's Deputy Prime Minister, Richard Marles, announced that his country is planning to send assistance.

"Our two countries are very close together, and in moments of natural disaster, they have been quick to support us. We are reciprocating the same kindness," Marles told the Australian public broadcaster ABC on Monday.

"The situation is terrible with the land still sliding. The water is running and this is creating a massive risk for everyone involved," UN migration agency official Serhan Aktoprak said on Sunday. 

Relief agencies and local leaders initially thought that between 100 and 300 people had died in the disaster.

Authorities revised the death toll upward when aid workers on the ground realized more people were living in the village than initially thought.

The village was home to more than 4,000 people and served as a trading post for alluvial miners who panned for gold in the highlands.

The disaster has displaced more than 1,000 people, and food gardens and water supplies have been nearly wiped out.

On both sides of the massive debris field, which covers an area the size of three to four football fields and has cut off the main highway through the province, government authorities set up evacuation centers on safer ground.