Torrential rains intensified overnight into Sunday, and by morning the landfill used by Conakry, a city of 1.5 million people, had overflowed. When the garbage heap was saturated by the heavy rain, a landslide was triggered.
The flood of waste spilled over and buried nearby makeshift settlements. It is uncertain how many people were injured, according to the country's civil protection agency.
According to Baldé Mamadou Bailo, who is responsible for waste management at the engineering battalion that manages the landfill, the site was scheduled to be completely closed on Sunday.
