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Guinea garbage dump collapse (Img: Google)
New Delhi: At least 30 people have been killed after a massive mound of garbage collapsed onto nearby homes in Guinea’s capital Conakry, triggering a major rescue operation. Authorities fear that the death toll could rise further as emergency teams continue searching for survivors.
The disaster occurred in the Dar-es-Salam area of Conakry around 2:00 am local time following heavy overnight rainfall, which is believed to have destabilised the huge waste pile.
According to the Guinean government, 22 people were injured in the collapse, including six who are in critical condition.
Authorities have deployed significant resources, including military personnel, to assist rescue operations and search for people trapped under the debris.
Rescue workers were later seen using excavators to clear the massive pile of scattered waste while local residents gathered near the site hoping to find missing family members.
One woman told local media that she lost all five of her children in the tragedy, highlighting the devastating impact of the collapse on nearby communities.
Local residents and community leaders said the scale of the disaster was enormous. Neighborhood leader Lancine Sylla earlier told AFP that rescuers had already recovered several bodies from the site.
“We have pulled out 18 bodies that were taken to the morgue,” Sylla said while describing the rescue efforts.
Guinea’s Prime Minister Mamadou Oury Bah visited the disaster site to assess the situation and oversee the ongoing rescue operation.
The incident has brought back memories of a similar tragedy at the same location in 2017, when another landslide at the waste site killed at least 10 people.
The repeated disasters have raised concerns over waste management practices, the safety of communities living near landfill areas and the risks posed by unstable garbage sites, especially during periods of heavy rainfall.
Authorities are continuing rescue operations while investigations are expected to determine the exact cause of the collapse.
