Rescuers are hunting for what are believed to be 2,000 victims buried under a landslide in Papua New Guinea.
The government figure is about three times as high AND estimate of 670 deaths the islands mountainous interior.
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Only six bodies had been found last night after Friday's disaster in the village of Yambali in the Enga province of the South Pacific.
Officials said it was difficult to estimate the scale of the catastrophe because tribal wars meant aid workers needed military escorts.
The landslide also buried a 650-foot stretch of the county's main highway under 20 to 26 feet of debris.
Survivors – 4,000 have been displaced – dig by hand in an attempt to find the dead beneath rubble up to 10 meters deep.
Officials said they are divided on whether heavy machinery should be used.
Traumatized villagers are divided over whether heavy machinery should be allowed to dig up and possibly further damage the bodies of their buried relatives.
The island asks National in a letter to the UN for help Disaster Center said: “The situation remains volatile due to the shifting terrain, posing constant danger to both the rescue teams and survivors.”
Heavy rain caused the landslide, which hit “like a bomb in a split second”.
Earth-moving equipment used by the Papua New Guinea Army was transported to the disaster site, 400 kilometers (250 miles) from the city of Lae on the east coast.
Insiders said the landslide would have a major economic impact on the entire country.