Disasters & Incidents
Guinea landfill collapse kills 31 in Conakry
A landfill collapse in Guinea's capital Conakry killed 31 people and injured more than 20 after heavy rain sent a garbage dump sliding onto homes in the Dar es Salam neighbourhood before dawn on Sunday.
Rescuers used large excavators on Monday to search for victims in torrential rain. The site was cordoned off by security, and the ground was muddy after further downpours.
Guinea's National Agency for Humanitarian Emergency and Disaster Management said 358 people affected by the collapse were sheltering at a school in the city's Dixinn Centre neighbourhood. It said 72 households were still directly at risk, and people living in dangerous areas were told to evacuate.
The agency said housing, food, clothing and healthcare were being provided. It also said a mobile clinic would be set up and a psychological and social support team mobilised.
Residents said they had warned authorities about the danger before the collapse. Abou Hamza, a youth community leader in Dar es Salam, said local young people had organised meetings and invited officials, but he said the authorities had not taken the risk seriously.
“The state failed to take steps to close the dump,” Hamza said, adding that residents had been promised a year earlier that it would be closed.
Residents described homes being hit in the middle of the night and relatives being killed. Alhassane Camara said his younger brother died when the slide struck the home where he had been sleeping with his brothers.
Aboubacar Camara said a second slide buried young men who had gone to rescue victims of the first collapse. Player Macire said her husband was buried after going to help others.
Prime Minister Amadou Oury Bah visited the scene on Sunday and said measures were being taken to provide medical care for the injured and assistance for people affected by the disaster.
The government had recently announced operations to evacuate residents and secure the area around the landfill because of landslide risks. The rainy season is particularly long and intense in the region.
Update
Guinea's disaster management agency said 358 affected people were sheltering at a school in Dixinn Centre.
The agency said 72 households were still directly at risk and people in dangerous areas were told to evacuate.
Authorities said housing, food, clothing and healthcare were being provided, with a mobile clinic and psychological and social support team planned.
The mayor of Gbessia said one resident's daughter and youngest child were alive at a nearby hospital after the resident had said her five children and husband had died.
Source note: AFP news report published on 24 August 2026 at 22:33:37 UTC.
Update
The reported death toll rose to 31.
More than 400 displaced people have been evacuated since Sunday evening and housed in a primary school in Dixinn.
Rescuers continued searching in torrential rain on Monday with excavators.
Residents gave further accounts of relatives killed and of a second slide burying would-be rescuers.
Source note: AFP news report published on 24 August 2026 at 15:27:32 UTC.
Update
The collapse injured 22 people, compared with the earlier report of six seriously injured people.
Residents said they had warned authorities about the danger before the collapse.
A resident said his younger brother was killed when the slide hit his home.
Another resident said a second slide buried people who had gone to help victims of the first slide.
Source note: AFP news report published on 24 August 2026 at 13:00:38 UTC.
Update
Prime Minister Amadou Oury Bah visited the collapse site.
Opposition figure Cellou Dalein Diallo said the dump's closure had been announced for Sunday, August 23, and called for the circumstances to be established transparently.
The government said resources had been deployed for searches, rescue, body recovery, medical care and assistance for affected people.
Source note: AFP news report published on 23 August 2026 at 17:54:00 UTC.
Update
The government said six other people were seriously injured.
The collapse happened at about 2:00 am in the Bbessia district's Dar-es-salam neighbourhood.
Excavators took part in a search-and-rescue operation at the collapsed landfill.
Source note: AFP news report published on 23 August 2026 at 17:21:22 UTC.
Update
Guinea's government said the landfill collapse killed 30 people.
Source note: AFP news report published on 23 August 2026 at 17:00:34 UTC.
Uncertainty notes
Rescuers were still searching, so the final casualty toll could change.
The supplied material includes residents' accusations that warnings were ignored, but it does not establish an official finding of responsibility.
Source
AFP news report published on .