A collapse of a large pile of refuse at a major landfill in Guinea's capital buried several homes and killed 30 people, the government said on Tuesday.
Officials said the mound of rubbish gave way at the waste site, trapping dwellings located nearby. The government has identified the incident as a major fatality event but has not released further details about the number of injured or any ongoing rescue operations.
The tragedy highlights longstanding concerns about the safety and management of informal and municipal dumps in many urban centres, where housing often encroaches on unstable waste stockpiles. Landfill collapses have in the past led to sudden, high-casualty incidents when communities live or work close to unstable refuse heaps.
Authorities said they were investigating the circumstances of the collapse. No additional information was immediately available about the cause of the failure or whether any measures are being taken to relocate residents from the area or to provide relief to affected families.