Overview
- A massive section of the Dar Es Salam landfill collapsed early Sunday after heavy rain, sending tons of garbage into adjacent shacks and tents and killing 30 people according to the central government.
- Rescue teams using excavators, military engineers, medical staff and local volunteers continue to search the site for survivors while recovering bodies and treating dozens of injured people, including six in serious condition.
- Officials had issued eviction notices and planned to close and relocate the dump the same day, and ministers at the scene have pledged relocation, medical care and financial assistance for affected families.
- Residents and opposition figures are demanding a transparent investigation into why warnings and earlier evacuation orders were not enforced despite the landfill's known collapse risks and a previous deadly landslide in 2017.
- The disaster highlights the risks faced by waste-pickers and low-income households that live beside open dumps during the rainy season and raises urgent questions about longer-term waste management and safe resettlement plans for Conakry.