Updated 6:20 am EDT

Afghan officials confirmed that more than 2,000 people died in the landslide that hit a village in northern Afghanistan Friday.

The United Nations initially placed the casualty count at 350 on Friday but the figure radically went up Saturday when rescue teams gave up hope of finding any survivors from among the two thousand villagers who were trapped in rubble after the landslide.

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Relief and rescue teams are now focusing their efforts on helping 4,000 other people who were displaced by the landslide following fears that a hillside above the landslide area may likewise cave in.

The disaster happened in a remote, mountainous region in Afghanistan and rescue workers had struggled to reach the area.

Officials said early on that it was unlikely that there will be any survivors as the portion of the mountain that collapsed is so large. Villagers were helping a handful of policemen dig through the collapsed land mass with basic tools.

The first landslide took place before noon local time Friday and the second one happened shortly after, burying around 600 people who had come to search for survivors of the first event, according to CNN reporters in the area.

The Afghan village, in the Argo district, has seen heavy rains in the last few days, triggering floods that have killed some 150 people. The landslides were also triggered by the torrential rains.

Afghan President Hamid Karzai called for emergency relief efforts to be dispatched to the area immediately.

The UN has also sent out rescue teams but said the roads were not suitable for heavy machinery, leaving rescue groups with the massive challenge of searching for survivors with very little assistance.

President Barack Obama expressed US support saying his country stands ready to help the Afghan people in the face of the disaster.

The United States has maintained its presence in Afghanistan for more than a decade since former President George W. Bush launched an offensive against Osama Bin Laden and vowed to pulverize his al-Qaeda powerbase in the aftermath of the 9-11 terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001.

Washington was getting ready to pull out its 30,000-strong military contingent in Afghanistan toward the end of 2014.