A towering heap of garbage collapsed onto a cluster of makeshift homes in Guinea's capital, Conakry, in the early hours of Sunday, killing at least 30 people in one of the deadliest waste-site disasters in recent memory. The landslide struck the Dar es Salam dumpsite in the Bbessia district around 2 a.m. local time, after hours of torrential rain saturated the open-air landfill and sent tonnes of waste sliding onto the wood, tarpaulin and sheet-metal shacks built up against its base.

Officials say at least 30 people were killed and six others seriously injured, though the toll climbed steadily through Sunday and Monday as excavators worked through the debris. "We have pulled out 18 bodies that were taken to the morgue," Lancine Sylla, head of the local suburb, told reporters as the search continued, according to Al Jazeera. The government said "significant material and human resources have been deployed to search for any people who may still be buried," and Prime Minister Amadou Oury Bah visited the site in person as heavy machinery cleared collapsed mounds of refuse.

Dar es Salam is Guinea's largest open-air waste dump, and for years vulnerable families displaced by rapid urban growth and a lack of affordable housing have settled directly beside — and in some cases beneath — its slopes, despite repeated warnings from authorities about the risk of landslides and flooding, NBC News reported. According to World Bank figures cited in that reporting, nearly 44 percent of Guinea's population lives below the national poverty line, underscoring how little choice many residents had but to remain near the dump even after receiving eviction notices.

A closure that came a day too late

The disaster's timing has become a flashpoint in Conakry. The dumpsite had been officially scheduled for closure on the very Sunday it collapsed, and residents nearby had already been issued eviction notices — though many had not yet left. Opposition leader Cellou Dalein Diallo seized on the coincidence.

"THIS TRAGEDY IS ALL THE MORE WORRYING BECAUSE THE CLOSURE OF THE DUMP HAD BEEN ANNOUNCED FOR THIS SUNDAY."

A sanitation official, Lt. Col. Baldé Mamadou Bailo, confirmed the closure had indeed been imminent, raising questions from residents and opposition figures alike about why the site wasn't cleared or shut down sooner given the known risks and standing warnings. France 24 reported that search teams were still combing through the wreckage on Monday, with fears the toll could rise further.

The government has pledged medical care for the injured and relocation assistance for displaced families, though no timeline or compensation figures have yet been announced. Guinea's transitional authorities, already under scrutiny over infrastructure and urban planning failures, now face pressure to explain why a landfill long flagged as a hazard was allowed to remain populated with informal housing until the moment it gave way. Rescue operations were ongoing as of Monday afternoon, with officials warning the death toll may not be final.