CONAKRY, Guinea (AP) — A mountain of garbage collapsed at the largest landfill in Guinea’s capital, Conakry, early Sunday, killing 30 people, according to the central government. Authorities said heavy rain, which began around 2 a.m., washed away waste at Dar Es Salam, Conakry’s largest landfill, and caused a landslide that buried nearby shacks. A search and rescue operation was underway to find survivors. Six people were seriously injured and several houses were destroyed. The site, an open-air waste dump that is the largest in the city, had been designated for closure on Sunday, according to Lt. Col. Baldé Mamadou Bailo, a military engineering battalion sanitation officer. Locals living around the landfill had received eviction notices, forcing 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 to other places,” Dienabou Touré, minister of territorial administration and decentralization, said at the scene. Guinea is rich in minerals, with huge bauxite deposits, the largest in the world, and also has iron ore, gold, diamonds and minerals. However, according to the World Bank, 43.7% of the population lives below the national poverty line.
