Massive garbage heap collapses onto homes, killing at least 30 as rescuers search for survivors
At Least 30 Dead After Landfill Collapse Buries Homes in Guinea's Capital
CONAKRY, Guinea — A catastrophic landslide swept through a sprawling garbage dump in Guinea's capital Sunday, killing at least 30 people and injuring six others when a wall of refuse crashed down onto nearby makeshift dwellings, officials said.
The disaster struck Dar Es Salam, the largest open-air landfill in Conakry, when accumulated waste gave way beneath a three-story building, collapsing it under the weight of garbage. Heavy rainfall overnight had saturated the site, creating unstable conditions that authorities had already flagged as dangerous.
Search-and-rescue teams scrambled to the scene Sunday, working to locate any survivors trapped beneath the debris. Emergency responders faced hazardous conditions as they navigated the unstable mound of refuse.
The tragedy occurred just hours after officials announced the landfill would be permanently closed. Lt. Col. Baldé Mamadou Bailo, sanitation officer for the military engineering battalion, said authorities had warned of dangerous conditions at the site in the days leading up to the collapse.
"We will ensure that the remaining families are relocated elsewhere," said Dienabou Touré, Guinea's minister of territorial administration and decentralization, who visited the disaster site.
Many residents near the landfill had received eviction notices as part of the closure plan and were in the process of vacating the area. However, several families remained nearby at the time of the collapse, according to officials.
The incident marks the second major disaster at the Dar Es Salam landfill in recent years. In 2017, torrential rains triggered a similar mudslide at the same site, killing at least eight people. That earlier tragedy had raised concerns about the safety of the dump, which has served as Conakry's primary waste disposal location for decades.
Guinea's government faces mounting pressure to address the living conditions of communities that have settled near the capital's waste facilities while providing aid to those affected by Sunday's disaster.
