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The number of people buried alive in the disaser has tripled to more than 2,000, according to the latest figures by the government as fears grow that few survivors will be found. The National Disaster Centre raised the number suspected buried to 2,000 in a letter to the U.N. released on Monday but dated Sunday. A separate U.N. agency put the possible death toll much lower, at more than 670 people. The landslide first hit Kaokalam Village in the Enga Province, about 600km northwest of the South Pacific island nation's capital Port Moresby, about 3am on Friday local time. Initially around 100 people were feared buried under rubble and mud, but rescue workers said further land slips were continuing and the number has since grown dramatically. The variance in the possible death toll reflects the remote site and the difficulty getting an accurate population estimate. PNG's last credible census was in 2000 and many people live in isolated mountainous villages. 'There are an estimated 150-plus houses now buried' said UN migration agency official Serhan Aktoprak on Sunday. The harrowing video footage highlights the scale of destruction the calamitous landslide has left behind. Humanitarian workers revealed that the mud and rubble spans almost four football fields in length. The aerial views show that large boulders, fallen tree trunks and collapsed buildings lay where the village once was. 'The situation is terrible with the land still sliding. The water is running and this is creating a massive risk for eveyrone involved,' added Aktoprak, who is based in Port Moresby. More than 1,000 people had been displaced from the once-bustling village, Aktoprak said, with food gardens and water supplies almost completely wiped out. 'People are using digging sticks, spades, large agricultural forks to remove the bodies buried under the soil.' More than 72 hours after the landslide rumbled down the face of Mount Mungalo, mud-caked villagers in bare feet are still searching for their loved ones using shovels, axes and other makeshift tools. Heavy equipment and aid has been slow to arrive due to the remote location, unforgiving terrain, and damaged roads. Tribal warfare nearby has forced aid workers to travel in convoys escorted by soldiers and return to the provincial capital, roughly 60 km away, at night. 'The destruction is massive,' Nickson Pakea, president of the nearby chamber of commerce, said. 'They need machinery and other equipment to uncover these bodies. We are facing a big problem.' Eight people were killed and 30 houses burnt down on Saturday, a U.N. agency official said. Aid convoys on Monday passed the still smoking remains of houses. The first excavator only reached the site late on Sunday, according to a U.N. official. Six bodies have been retrieved so far. Others videos shared on social media show the heartbreaking aftermath of the natural disaster. One clip shows a local villager filming the scene following the landslide, with their camera panning to reveal collapsed homes and trees. They can be heard speaking in a local dialect while others can be heard crying in the background. Located on the side of densely forested Mount Mungalo, the village was home to a transient population that could swell to more than 4,000 people. It served as a trading post for the alluvial miners who panned for gold in the highlands region. 'It's a centre of the community. People come from near and far to do their alluvial mining, and then they come to this place to trade,' Pakea said. Prime Minister James Marape's office said the disaster was being handled by PNG emergency authorities and Marape was in the capital Port Moresby preparing for the return of parliament on Tuesday, where he faces a no-confidence motion. Papua New Guinea is a former Australian colony, achieving independence in 1975.
