A Rubbish Mountain Fell on Conakry Days Before the Clearance
GUINEA · SOCIETY
Key Facts
—What happened: A mass of refuse gave way at the Dar-es-Salam dump in the Conakry commune of Gbessia in the early hours of Sunday 23 August 2026, after heavy rain.
—The toll: Guinea’s state news agency AGP gave a provisional 32 dead and 27 injured on Monday 24 August, citing the rescue services, in copy carried by APS. The government communiqué the previous day had said 30 dead; the civil protection service’s last figure was 31. Several people are still missing.
—Who was there: Families were living in shacks and tents built against the refuse wall, and Guinean media report a three-storey building also came down.
—The timing: Officials had held a public meeting at the site on Thursday 20 August about clearing it, and a census of dwellings had been carried out with World Bank assistance.
—The disputed deadline: A military engineering officer said residents were told the dump would be fenced off within a week; the government’s own briefing said preparatory works would start at the beginning of September.
—It has happened before: The same dump collapsed on 22 August 2017, killing nine people, after early provisional counts of five and eight.
At least 32 people died in the Conakry landfill collapse at Dar-es-Salam. The disaster struck early Sunday 23 August 2026, per Guinea’s state news agency. Several people are still missing. The families buried were living against a refuse wall the state had already identified as dangerous.
What happened at Dar-es-Salam
Heavy rain fell over Conakry through Saturday night. A mass of accumulated refuse gave way at the Dar-es-Salam dump in Gbessia. The collapse happened in the early hours, reported at around 2am and 3am, onto nearby dwellings.
Dar-es-Salam is the capital’s largest open-air landfill. People built shacks and tents directly against the tip face, where the salvageable material is.
A three-storey building also came down in the slide, which complicates the picture of a purely informal settlement.
The toll, and why the figures moved
The numbers changed several times within a day. That is normal in the first hours of a disaster, and worth setting out plainly.
The civil protection service first gave 22 dead, then 31. A government communiqué issued at 4pm on Sunday put the provisional toll at 30 dead, with six seriously and 16 lightly injured.
By Monday afternoon, the state news agency AGP reported 32 dead and 27 injured. Another body was recovered, and five more injured reached the hospital. Every one of these figures is provisional, and the search was still going on.
The apparent conflict over the injured count dissolves once the government breakdown is read properly. Twenty-two injured, of whom six seriously, is the same statement reported two different ways.
The week the Conakry landfill collapse was supposed to be prevented
This is the part that will not sit comfortably in Conakry. The state had already decided the site was unsafe and had begun the process of clearing it.
On Thursday 20 August, three days before the collapse, the Governor of Conakry convened a public meeting at Dar-es-Salam. M’ma Hawa Sylla had three ministers with her. A census of dwellings had been carried out with World Bank assistance.
Exactly when the site was due to close is contested. Residents were told the fence would go up within a week. Lieutenant-Colonel Mamadou Baïlo Baldé quoted their words: “Dans une semaine, nous allons faire la clôture.” The opposition leader Cellou Dalein Diallo said its closure had been announced for Sunday 23 August.
The government’s own briefing three days before the disaster said preparatory works would begin at the start of September. What is not in dispute is that people were still living there.
A minister three weeks into the job
The territorial administration minister, Camara Djénabou Touré, visited the site. She was appointed in a reshuffle on 27 July 2026 and installed on 31 July.
The authorities set up a security perimeter and moved remaining households to safety. Prime Minister Amadou Oury Bah, known as Bah Oury, also went to Dar-es-Salam, with soldiers and excavators joining the search.
The same landfill collapsed on 22 August 2017, killing nine people, after early provisional counts of five and eight. That was nine years and one day earlier.
The gap between the mine and the city
Guinea is in the middle of the largest resource story in West Africa. The first ore from the Simandou iron project left Guinea in December 2025. A cargo docked at Majishan in China on 17 January 2026.
The public finances have improved with it. The IMF reached a staff-level agreement this month on a 41-month credit facility of SDR 310.59 million. That equals 145% of Guinea’s quota, with Board approval expected in September.
The arrangement has been reported at about US$425 million, and Guinea projects growth of 8.6% in 2026 after 7.1% in 2025. Those growth figures are Guinea’s, not the Fund’s, whose release carried no numbers.
None of it reached a dump the government had already condemned. That distance, between a mega-project balance sheet and a rubbish tip people live on, is the whole of it.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many people died in the Conakry landfill collapse?
Guinea’s civil protection service put the toll at 32 dead and 27 injured on Monday 24 August 2026. A government communiqué the previous day had given 30 dead and 22 injured.
Where did it happen?
At the Dar-es-Salam dump in the commune of Gbessia, Conakry’s largest open-air landfill. It gave way in the early hours of 23 August 2026 after heavy rain.
Was the site due to close?
Yes, though the date is contested. Officials held a clearance meeting at the site on 20 August. One officer said residents were told it would be fenced off within a week. The government said works would start in September.
Has this happened before?
The same landfill collapsed on 22 August 2017, killing nine people, after early provisional counts of five and eight.
What is the wider economic context?
Guinea is ramping up the Simandou iron ore project. It reached an IMF staff-level agreement this month on a 41-month facility of SDR 310.59 million. Board approval is expected in September.
Connected Coverage
Guinea’s mining boom is reshaping the state’s finances: read our reports on the new International Monetary Fund arrangement and the ban on raw gold exports.
This article was produced by The Rio Times’ automated newsroom system. How we use AI · Report an error
LatAm Markets: Live Signals → — real-time movers, turnover leaders and FX across Latin America.
Read More from The Rio Times