More than 2,000 people were buried alive by a massive landslide in Papua New Guinea last week, Reuters reported, citing the national disaster centre on Monday.

Treacherous terrain and the difficulty of getting aid to the site raises the risk few survivors will be found.

The National Disaster Centre raised the toll again to 2,000 in a letter to the UN on Sunday, adding that the landslide also caused major destruction to buildings and food gardens.