More than 2,000 people were buried under debris after the landslide

More than 2,000 people may be buried under debris from a deadly landslide in Papua New Guinea on Friday, The Associated Press reported, citing a letter from Papua New Guinean authorities to the United Nations.

The side of Mount Mungalo, about 600 kilometers (373 miles) north of the capital Port Moresby, collapsed early Friday, covering the village of Yambali with a mixture of rock, mud, and fallen trees. The natural disaster also disrupted major provincial roads in the region, prompting increased rescue efforts.

Threats from local tribes have also posed a major challenge, prompting the military to protect aid supplies, first aid groups said.

Luseta Laso Mana, the director general of the National Disaster Center of Papua New Guinea, wrote to the UN on Sunday, saying that "more than 2,000 people were buried" and there was "extreme damage".

According to the Associated Press, Mana visited the disaster-hit areas of the country, which he warned would have a negative impact on the country's economy, and formally requested international aid. Earlier in the day, Serhan Aktoprak, head of the Mission for the International Organization for Migration in Papua New Guinea, told the Associated Press that local authorities said more than 670 people were buried underground.

He explained that the calculation is based on the average population per household in the area, but added that the estimates of the dead "are not reliable."

Regarding the new assessment from the authorities of Papua New Guinea, Aktoplak said: "We cannot dispute the instructions of the government, but we cannot talk about it."

Meanwhile, local officials admitted that they initially underestimated the number of residents in Yambali village.

The death toll has risen by a hundred to over two thousand since Friday's crisis. In the beginning, the rescue team's work was slow, according to media reports. The AP also cited local authorities as saying the landslides left 1,250 people homeless.