Survivors of Guinea's deadly landfill collapse say authorities ignored warnings

The landfill collapse occurred in the early hours of Sunday in the Guinean capital Conakry's Dar es Salam neighbourhood, following heavy rain.

At least 31 people were killed, more than 20 injured and several homes were destroyed.

Rescue workers using excavators were at the site on Monday to search for victims and the area was cordoned off by security.

Around 358 people affected by the landslide were sheltering at a school in the city's Dixinn Centre neighbourhood, Lancei Toure, director general of the National Agency for Humanitarian Emergency and Disaster Management (ANGUCH), said on Monday.

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Some 72 households were assessed as still directly at risk of harm, and those living in dangerous areas were told to evacuate, he said.

Housing, food, clothing and healthcare are being provided, the agency said, with a mobile clinic to be set up and mobilisation of a psychological and social support team.

Prime Minister Amadou Oury Bah visited the scene on Sunday. He said measures were being taken "to ensure medical care for the injured" and "assistance for those affected by this tragedy".

Toxic waste

Meanwhile, residents said they had previously tried to alert Guinea's authorities to the danger.

"We young people did everything to prevent this. We organised meetings and invited officials, but they didn't take the matter seriously", Abou Hamza, a local resident who serves as a youth community leader, told French news agency AFP at the scene.

"The state failed to take steps to close the dump. Yet they had promised us they would a year ago."

In the days prior to the collapse, the government had announced operations to evacuate residents and secure the area surrounding the landfill due to the risk of landslides, especially in the long rainy season.

The government has been planning to close the landfill for several years – not only because it frequently collapses (nine people lost their lives there under similar circumstances in 2017) but because it is also a major source of pollution.

Fires are regularly lit there, as there is no other way to dispose of the waste, and the resulting toxic smoke poisons the air in the surrounding area.

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To address the problem, a project to build a new landfill in the commune of Coyah, on the outskirts of Conakry, was launched in 2022.

Cellou Dalein Diallo, a leading Guinean opposition figure and former prime minister currently living in exile, described Sunday's collapse as "a tragedy that plunges us into dismay".

In a Facebook post, exiled former Guinean president Alpha Condé wrote that "the dignity and safety of [our] most vulnerable populations" must be protected. "Guinea is in mourning today," he added. 

Guinea has been under junta rule following a coup in 2021, led by General Mamadi Doumbouya, who was elected president in December 2025.

(with AFP)