30 people killed in landslide in capital of Guinea, officials say
Summary
A landslide at the Dar Es Salam landfill in Conakry, Guinea, killed 30 people early Sunday after heavy rains triggered refuse to collapse onto nearby shacks. The central government said the search and rescue operation was underway, with six people seriously injured and several homes destroyed. Authorities said the landfill had been designated for closure on Sunday, and some residents had been given eviction notices. Dienabou Touré said remaining families would be relocated elsewhere.
Key Facts
- Heavy rains began around 2 a.m. and washed over the refuse at Dar Es Salam, triggering the landslide in Conakry.
- The site was described as the largest landfill in Guinea's capital and an open-air waste dump.
- Authorities said six people were seriously injured and several homes were destroyed.
- Lt. Col. Baldé Mamadou Bailo said the landfill had been designated for closure on Sunday.
- The World Bank said 43.7% of Guinea's population lives below the national poverty line.
People gather at a landfill after a landslide, triggered by heavy overnight rains, killed several people in Dar es Salam in Conakry, Guinea, Aug. 23. Reuters-Yonhap
CONAKRY, Guinea — A mountainous heap of refuse collapsed at the largest landfill in Guinea 's capital of Conakry early on Sunday, killing 30 people, according to the central government.
Authorities said that heavy rains, which started at around 2 a.m., washed over the refuse at Dar Es Salam — the largest landfill in Conakry — and triggered a landslide that buried nearby shacks. A search and rescue operation was underway to find survivors. Six people were seriously injured and several homes were destroyed.
The site, an open-air waste dump which is the largest in the city, had been designated for closure on Sunday, according to Lt. Col. Baldé Mamadou Bailo, the sanitation officer for the military engineering battalion.
Locals living around the landfill had been given eviction notices, which forced many to leave the area, but many others were still around at the time of the disaster, according to authorities.
"We will ensure that the remaining families are relocated elsewhere,” Dienabou Touré, the minister of territorial administration and decentralization, said at the scene.
Guinea is mineral-rich with huge deposits of bauxite — the largest in the world — and also has iron ore, gold, diamonds and minerals. However, according to the World Bank, 43.7% of the population lives below the national poverty line.
Explore More
- Q.
- Q.
- Q.