CONAKRY, Aug. 23 (Xinhua) -- A landslide at a rubbish dump in Dar-es-Salam on the outskirts of Conakry, the Guinean capital, has reportedly killed more than a dozen people and injured several others, according to a local resident.
The incident occurred at around 3:00 a.m. local time (0300 GMT) on Sunday following heavy rains that lashed Conakry.
According to the witness, who requested anonymity, several families living near the rubbish dump were caught in their sleep and buried under large masses of rubbish and runoff water.
More than a dozen bodies have reportedly been recovered from the debris, while search and rescue operations are continuing to look for possible additional victims, with emergency and security services mobilized at the scene.
The ministers in charge of urban planning, housing and territorial development, as well as the minister in charge of territorial administration and decentralization, accompanied by local authorities, visited the site to assess the extent of the damage and oversee rescue operations.
The landslide was reportedly caused by the collapse of a large mass of household rubbish that had accumulated at the site over several years.
The Guinean government has not yet released an official death toll.
According to local media reports, the authorities had planned to close the Dar-es-Salam rubbish dump on Sunday, the same day the disaster occurred. ■