Guinea: 8 Killed in Rubbish Dump Landslide
A rubbish dump landslide on the outskirts of Conakry, the capital of Guinea in West Africa, has killed at least eight people and injured several others.
The rubbish dump collapsed occurred yesterday in Hamdallaye, a poor community just outside of the capital.
According to police, the landslide crushed at least three homes, as tonnes of rubbish gave way after heavy rains in the area.
Heavy rains in over the past few weeks, have lead to major flooding and mudslides across various countries in West Africa.
Just eight days ago, severe mudslides in Sierra Leone killed close to 500 people and destroyed thousands of homes. Approximately 600 people are still missing, according to the Red Cross.
Police officials in Guinea have confirmed that rescuers are working hard to try to free people trapped by the rubbish.
While two survivors were pulled from the rubbish, rescuers also recovered eight bodies , two of whom were children.
“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,” Boubacar Kasse, a police commissioner in Conakry said.
Meteorologists have warned both Guinea and Sierra Leone to brace themselves for more rain, with torrential downpours expected this coming week.
Guinea and Sierra Leone are particularly at risk of devastation, being among the poorest countries in the world, and lacking sufficient infrastructure to deal with these kind of natural disasters.
Several human rights organisations have called on the international community to send aid to these countries. The United Kingdom announced earlier this week that they have donated £5 million to Sierra Leone.
Image credit: Rubbish dump landslide in Guinea (2017) [online image] sourced on 23 August 2017 at https://www.reuters.com/article/us-guinea-mudslide-idUSKCN1B21Y3
