Abidjan  - The trial of twelve people accused of dumping toxic waste that killed 17 people and poisoned thousands of others in Ivory Coast has begun, reports said Monday.

The accused are mainly officials from a local company Tommy, which Dutch multinational Trafigura contracted to deal with 500 tonnes of chemical waste from the oil industry, the BBC reported.

However, the waste was simply dumped in Abidjan two years ago.

Immediately after the waste was off-loaded at rubbish tips around Abidjan, local residents began to suffer rashes and breathing problems.

Trafigura, which has never admitted any liability, paid the West African nation around 220 million dollars in an out-of-court settlement in February 2007. (dpa)