Guinea’s Health Minister Khaite Sall has confirmed that several Sierra Leonean nationals are among the 34 people killed when a massive rubbish pile collapsed at a dumpsite in the capital, Conakry.
Speaking to journalists on Tuesday, Sall said the latest official toll stood at 34 dead and 33 injured, six of them seriously.
She stated that Guinean authorities had contacted the foreign ministry, which in turn reached out to Sierra Leone’s embassy to assist with identifying the victims and recovering their bodies.
‘We have contacted the foreign ministry, which in turn contacted Sierra Leone’s embassy for the identification of its nationals and for the recovery of the bodies,’ Sall told journalists,” Sall Stated
The disaster struck in the early hours of Sunday, 23 August, at the Dar-es-Salam dumpsite in the Gbessia commune. Heavy overnight rain caused a mountainous heap of waste to give way, burying nearby homes, shacks and tents. Rescuers using excavators continued searching the site in the days that followed.
Sierra Leone’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said it is closely monitoring developments. The Sierra Leonean embassy in Guinea has dispatched a team, including the Deputy Ambassador, to the scene to check on citizens and offer support.
The ministry has promised further updates once the identities of the victims are fully confirmed and provided contact numbers for enquiries: +232 76 632659 or +232 30 300009.
The dumpsite had been flagged as dangerous for some time. Guinean officials had announced plans to close it and relocate residents only days earlier, with the formal closure due on the day of the collapse.
Eviction notices had been issued, yet many people were still living in the area when the landslide occurred. Residents later voiced anger, saying repeated warnings about the risks had been ignored. A similar incident at the same site in 2017 killed around nine or ten people.
Hundreds of those affected were temporarily sheltered at a school in the Dixinn Centre neighbourhood, while authorities indicated that approximately 1,500 families would need rehousing. Plans for a mass burial of the victims were also announced.
