Landfill collapse kills at least 30 in Guinea as rescuers search for survivors
Heavy rains washed over waste at a landfill in Guinea’s capital Conakry on Sunday, triggering a landslide that buried nearby shacks
A landslide at a landfill in Guinea’s capital killed 30 people, the government said on Sunday, after heavy rains overnight prompted the collapse of a massive mound of waste that engulfed nearby tents and shacks.
The incident happened less than a week after the government announced plans to close the site and relocate the waste because of the threat it posed, especially during the continuing rainy season, which causes landslides and fatal flash floods each year in crowded, underdeveloped cities across parts of West Africa.
The landslide took place at around 2am local time in the Gbessia commune of Conakry, according to a government statement.
The death toll was 30, with six people seriously injured and 16 more lightly injured, the statement said.
Rescuers were using excavators and other tools to clear the site of the landslide, which witnesses said was large enough to bury a block of flats along with more precarious dwellings.
One woman, Cire Diallo, told reporters at the scene that her five children were killed. “I have lost all my children. All I can do is put my trust in God,” she said.