Papua New Guinea’s government said Friday’s landslide buried more than 2,000 people and formally requested international assistance.
The figure of local authorities is about three times higher than the United Nations estimate of 670 buried people.
The acting director of the South Pacific island nation’s National Disaster Center said in a letter to the UN resident coordinator that the landslide “buried more than 2,000 people” and caused “great destruction”.
Australia is preparing to send planes and other aid equipment to Papua New Guinea on Monday.
Photo: Sky News