Seven villagers have been killed and five are missing after days of torrential rain triggered a landslide that buried homes on Guinea's west coast, witnesses and the government said Tuesday.
Among the dead are brothers aged seven and 15 who were sleeping in the remote hillside village of Kolon Kola when they were inundated by a wall of mud in the early hours of Sunday, according to their father.
The government said in a statement the mudslide on the flank of a mountain overlooking the homes "demolished the entire village" of 480 inhabitants. It vowed to get aid to the victims.
"This dramatic situation is the result of heavy rainfall in recent days across our coastal area, causing flooding and destruction of bridges… All rural roads have deteriorated and flooded, and access to the place is virtually impossible," it said.
"Authorities report a toll of seven deaths, including two bodies found, five still buried in the rubble, 12 injured," the statement went on.
Ten homes were destroyed while livestock and poultry were missing and six hectares (15 acres) of palm oil plantation land had been rendered unusable, the government said.
"A dozen families are without homes in the rain. This is a fact of God and we trust in him," said Mamadouba Camara, confirming the deaths of his two sons.
A neighbour, Alya Camara, had earlier told AFP that seven people were missing, including a man aged 50, two elderly women and four young men.
Deaths and disappearances are frequent in Guinea, one of the wettest countries in west Africa, during the June-to-November rainy season.
