Guinea counts 34 dead from landfill collapse

CONAKRY – The death toll from a landfill collapse on the weekend in Guinea’s capital has risen to 34, with another 33 people injured, six of them seriously, authorities said Tuesday.

The deadly accident at the garbage dump occurred in the early hours of Sunday in the Dar es Salam neighbourhood of Conakry, when a huge mound of rubbish collapsed following heavy rains, destroying several nearby homes.

Locals told AFP that multiple members of several families were wiped out.

The updated toll was given by the west African country’s health minister, Khaite Sall.

She said that among the victims were several Sierra Leoneans.

“We have contacted the foreign ministry, which in turn contacted Sierra Leone’s embassy for the identification of its nationals and for the recovery of the bodies,” Sall told journalists.

Guinea’s government had said it planned to organise a mass burial of all the victims.

In total, some 1,500 families were to be rehoused following the disaster.

Just days before the deadly collapse, the government had announced operations to evict residents and secure the area surrounding the landfill due to the risk of landslides.

The rainy season is particularly long and intense in the region.

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