Stay in the Know - Subscribe to Our Newsletters
Join a network of more than 90,000 waste and recycling industry professionals. Get the latest news and insights straight to your inbox. Free.
Eight Killed in Landfill Collapse in Guinea
Officials think the death toll will likely rise as the waste is cleared.
1 Min Read
At least eight people died in Guinea after heavy rains led to a landfill collapse. Garbage buried several houses in the Dar Es Salam neighborhood in the nation’s capital of Conarky.
Officials think the death toll will likely rise as the waste is cleared.
This is not the first waste-related disaster in Africa in 2017. In the spring, a tragic landslide at the Koshe Landfill in Ethiopia killed more than 100 people.
Standards for landfills in Africa are inconsistent from nation to nation and generally the facilities are more like what unregulated landfills looked like in the West decades ago. Newer sanitary landfills are now under construction throughout the continent.
The International Business Times has more about the tragedy in Guinea:
"The rubbish fell onto three homes," senior police official Boubacar Kasse, the police commissioner for Conakry, told AFP.
"There are still many people buried, and we have to do everything possible to save them. We have to get diggers in. Access to the area is very difficult," he continued.
Rescue teams are looking for survivors.
"Currently rescue operations are under way," the government said in a statement quoted by Reuters. "On this sad occasion, the government addresses its deepest condolences to the victims' families."
Dar Es Salam resident Yamoussa Soumah said: "I saw the mountain of garbage collapse on other people's houses. People were trapped. My wife and I heard the mud begin falling on our roof. We were able to escape, but we've lost everything."
About the Author
You May Also Like
