The Papua New Guinea government on Monday said a landslide last Friday buried more than 2,000 people and that it had formally asked for international help.

The government figure was around three times more than a United Nations’ estimate of 670.

The acting director of the South Pacific island nation’s National Disaster Centre said the landslide “buried more than 2,000 people alive” and caused “major destruction”.

A once-bustling remote hillside village in Enga province was almost wiped out when a chunk of Mount Mungalo collapsed in the early hours of Friday morning, burying scores of homes and the people sleeping inside them.

The United Nations said the number of possible deaths could change as rescue efforts were expected to continue for days. (Agencies)