1 week ago
Guinea Landfill Collapse Kills 30 After Heavy Rains
A huge pile of rubbish collapsed at a landfill in Conakry, Guinea.
The falling rubbish buried nearby homes, tents and small shelters.
The government said 30 people died and six were badly hurt.
Another report said 16 more people had minor injuries.
The accident happened early Sunday morning after heavy rain.
Rescue workers used large machines to look for people and recover bodies.
Officials had planned to close the landfill because it was considered dangerous.
An opposition leader said authorities should openly investigate what happened.
Thirty people died and six were seriously injured when a landfill collapsed in Conakry, according to the government.
The collapse occurred around 2 a.m. Sunday in the Dar-es-Salam neighborhood of the Gbessia district or commune.
Heavy rains contributed to a landslide that buried nearby homes, tents and shacks.
Rescue teams used excavators and other resources to search for survivors and recover bodies; 16 people were also reported lightly injured.
The landfill had been designated for closure, prompting calls for a transparent investigation into why people remained exposed.
- Who
- Residents near the Dar-es-Salam landfill were affected; the government reported 30 deaths, six serious injuries and 16 light injuries.
- What
- A mound of landfill waste collapsed and caused a landslide that engulfed nearby homes, tents and shacks.
- Where
- The Dar-es-Salam neighborhood of the Gbessia district or commune, on the outskirts of Conakry, Guinea.
- When
- Around 2 a.m. Sunday, identified in the reports as August 23.
- Why
- The reports attributed the collapse to heavy rains; the landfill had also been considered dangerous and was scheduled for closure.
Government Response
Opposition and Local Concerns
Cause of the disaster
Government Response
Government accounts attributed the collapse to heavy rains that washed over the refuse and triggered a landslide.
Opposition and Local Concerns
Opposition figure Cellou Dalein Diallo did not dispute the reported role of rain but said authorities must establish the circumstances fully and transparently.
Landfill closure
Government Response
Officials said the landfill had been designated for closure and that nearby residents had received eviction notices because the site was dangerous.
Opposition and Local Concerns
Diallo argued that the disaster was especially concerning because the closure had already been announced for that Sunday, while many people still remained near the site.
Emergency response
Government Response
The government said significant resources were deployed for search-and-rescue work, medical care and assistance to affected families; Prime Minister Amadou Oury Bah visited the site.
Opposition and Local Concerns
Before the official toll was released, neighborhood leader Lancine Sylla said 18 bodies had been recovered and expressed fear that many more people had died.
Key facts
- Death toll
- 30 people, according to the government
- Injuries
- Six people seriously injured; Reuters reported 16 additional light injuries
- Incident time
- Around 2:00 a.m. Sunday
- Location
- Dar-es-Salam, Gbessia, Conakry, Guinea
- Rescue effort
- Excavators and other material and human resources were deployed to search for survivors, rescue victims and recover bodies
- Landfill status
- The site had been designated for closure, with waste planned for relocation outside Conakry
- Evacuation warnings
- Authorities had ordered or notified nearby residents to leave because of fears the landfill could collapse
Quotes
Government of Guinea
Guinean government authority reporting the response to the landfill collapse
“It is now up to the competent authorities to establish, with full transparency, the circumstances that led to this disaster and to draw all the necessary conclusions”
NDTV
“Significant material and human resources have been deployed to search for any people who may still be buried, to rescue the victims and to recover the bodies.”
NDTV
Dienabou Touré
Guinea’s minister of territorial administration and decentralisation
“We will ensure that the remaining families are relocated elsewhere,””
republicworld.com
“I have lost all my children. All I can do is put my trust in God.”
theprint.in
Sources
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