Six dead in Guinea's capital after heavy rains

Six people have died and many others injured in Tuesday’s heavy rains in Guinea’s capital Conakry. The rains also caused extensive damage to property.

All the deaths were reported in North Enta, a poorly developed area of ​​the southeastern outskirts of the capital, according to local media reports and residents who spoke to AFP. Aboubacar Camara, a resident, told the Guinean public television that he lost four children who were killed after a part of their house collapsed while they were sleeping on Tuesday night.

“We were fast asleep when I heard a noise. I jumped out of the room and found a part of my house collapsed on my children who died on the spot,” he narrated.

Local residents confirmed the deaths and said two bodies were discovered in another area of ​​Enta North. They were two young men – aged between 18 and 22 years old – who drowned in an open drainage cluttered with garbage.

“The youngest lost a shoe while trying to jump over the gutter. He fell in it while trying to retrieve his shoe. His friend also died trying to save him,” a witness on condition of anonymity said.

Another witness, Alfa Ibrahima Sow, blamed the authorities for selling unsuitable lands including waterways for housing construction.

“We have district leaders who are concerned only with the sale of vacant lands, playgrounds, and waterways. And the consequences are often dramatic like what we are experiencing today,” he said.

Death and disappearances are common in Guinea during the rainy season, especially in the capital Conakry, as a result of drowning or landslides.