The death toll from a massive landslide earlier this week that buried a fleet of trucks waiting to cross from Pakistan to Afghanistan has risen to eight, officials said Saturday.

The landslide occurred before dawn on Tuesday at the Torkham border crossing, the most used between the two countries, as more than 100 trucks were waiting to cross.

"So far we have recovered seven bodies," said Bilal Faizi, a spokesman for the Pakistani rescue services, adding that "an operation is underway to recover an eighth body" from under the rubble.

Twenty trucks were buried in the accident in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province in northwestern Pakistan, while rescue services initially reported two deaths.

Most of the landslide occurred about 120 meters from the main border crossing, causing fires as drivers cooked meals on gas stoves before the daytime fast during Ramadan.

"Our workers are close to the eighth body and can see it," Faydi said, adding, "We removed 60 percent of the rubble, but another landslide occurred yesterday in the same area, which delayed the rescue operation."

The district's deputy commissioner, Abdul Nasir Khan, confirmed the death toll and said traffic had resumed on Thursday.

The cause of the landslide was not immediately clear, but one of the officials said on Tuesday that heavy machinery had been used for months in an expansion project in the hills around the border crossing, adding that heavy rain overnight may have contributed to it.