At least 30 people have been killed following a landslide at a major garbage landfill in West Africa, officials have said.

On Sunday, Aug. 23, the incident caused the collapse of several houses near the Dar Es Salam landfill in Conakry, the capital of Guinea, at around 2 a.m. local time, the Government of the Republic of Guinea confirmed in a statement, translated from French.

The government confirmed 30 people had died, and six people had been left seriously injured following the tragedy, while 16 suffered minor injuries. Those injured have been receiving medical assistance at the Donka University Hospital, per the statement.

The post stated that the landslide had occurred following heavy rainfall in the area.

A search and rescue operation was launched to help find survivors, with assistance from the Red Cross, defense and security forces, medical teams and other authorities.

Guinea Prime Minister Amadou Oury Bah also visited the landfill to monitor rescue efforts, the statement noted, adding that he’d expressed his deep compassion and solidarity to the victims’ families.

A woman, named Cire Diallo, told reporters at the scene that her five children had been killed in the landslide, per Reuters.

“I have ‌lost all ⁠my children. All I can do is put my trust in God,” she said, according to the outlet.

Dar Es Salam is the largest landfill in Conakry, per the Associated Press. It had been due to close on the same day as the landslide, Sunday, Aug. 23, according to Lieutenant Colonel Baldé Mamadou Bailo, the sanitation officer for the military engineering battalion, the news agency reported.

Djenab Toure, the country’s minister of territorial administration, said the government was set to shut the landfill because it was unsafe, according to Reuters, adding that officials planned to relocate the waste outside of Conakry, per the outlet.

Residents living on the outskirts of the landfill site had been served eviction notices ahead of its closure, prompting many to leave the area. However, many were still there at the time of the incident, the AP reported, citing authorities.