Conakry, GuineaAP —
Thirty people were killed when a pile of garbage collapsed early Sunday at Guinea’s largest landfill in the capital Conakry, the central government said.
Heavy rains that started around 2 a.m. swept away trash from Dar es Salaam, Conakry’s largest landfill, causing a landslide that buried nearby huts, authorities said. Search and rescue operations were underway to find survivors. Six people were seriously injured and several houses were destroyed.
The site, the city’s largest open-air waste dump, had been designated for closure on Sunday, said Lt. Col. Balde Mamadou Bailo, a military engineering battalion sanitary officer.
Local residents living near the landfill were issued with eviction notices and many were forced to leave the area, while many others were still there at the time of the disaster, authorities said.
“We will ensure that the remaining families are transferred elsewhere,” Minister of Territorial Administration and Decentralization Dienabou Touré said at the scene.
Guinea is rich in minerals, with huge deposits of bauxite, the largest in the world, and also produces iron ore, gold, diamonds and other minerals. However, according to the World Bank, 43.7% of the population lives below the national poverty line.
