The site of a landslide in Maip Mulitaka in Papua New Guinea's Enga Province on May 24, 2024 (Photo: AFP/ VNA)

In a letter to the UN resident coordinator dated Sunday, the acting director of the South Pacific island nation's National Disaster Center said the landslide "buried more than 2000 people alive" and caused "major destruction."

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

The letter stressed that rescue efforts continued to be a challenge. The main highway to the area is blocked, the letter said, and the ground remains unstable as water flows beneath the rocks, shifting land and “posing ongoing danger to both the rescue teams and survivors alike.”