- Conakry landfill collapse kills 30 after heavy rains.
- Dar Es Salam site was designated for closure Sunday.
- Landslide buried shacks, injured six people seriously.
Conakry (Guinea): A mountainous heap of refuse collapsed at the largest landfill in Guinea's capital of Conakry early on Sunday, killing 30 people, according to the central government. Authorities said that heavy rains, which started at around 2 am, washed over the refuse at Dar Es Salam -- Conakry's largest landfill -- and triggered a landslide that buried nearby shacks.
A search and rescue operation was underway to find survivors. Six people were seriously injured, and several homes were destroyed.
(Credit: Reuters)
The site, an open-air waste dump which is the largest in the city, had been designated for closure on Sunday, according to Lieutenant Colonel Balde Mamadou Bailo, the sanitation officer for the military engineering battalion.
What led to disaster at landfill?
Locals living around the landfill had been given eviction notices, which forced many to leave the area, but many others were still around at the time of the disaster, according to authorities. "We will ensure that the remaining families are relocated elsewhere," Dienabou Toure, the minister of territorial administration and decentralisation, said at the scene.
(Credit: Reuters)
Guinea is mineral-rich with huge deposits of bauxite - the largest in the world - and also has iron ore, gold, diamonds and minerals. However, according to the World Bank, 43.7 per cent of the population lives below the national poverty line.
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(Note: Except for the headline, this article has not been edited by The Daily Jagran and has been published through a syndicated feed. Source - PTI)
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