Three people, two women and a man, have been confirmed dead after a three-storey building that was being used as a church collapsed on worshippers in the Ghanaian capital, Accra, on Sunday.
Interior Minister Muntaka Mohammed-Mubarak said 20 others, most of them women and children, had been rescued and were being treated in various hospitals. There was “90-95% certainty that we no longer [have] any persons [trapped]”, he added.
Emergency teams worked through the night under floodlights searching for victims inside the structure’s remains.
The cause of its collapse, which happened after heavy rain, is unknown, with the interior minister saying investigations are under way.
The building itself, which was part of a school in Accra’s New Town area, was being used despite lying unfinished for several years, according to locals.
“What we can say is that there was a total of 23 people… It’s a very sad day for all of us,” Mohammed-Mubarak said.
Earlier reports had initially confirmed two deaths and 14 rescued, but the minister said the latest figures of 20 rescued had been cross-checked with various sources, including the ambulance services.
He acknowledged that it had been difficult to determine how many people had been in the building at the time of its collapse, and commended emergency responders for their quick response and rescue efforts through the night.
The national fire service has posted images on X of workers at the site as an agitated crowd mill around the scene.
Eyewitnesses reported hearing trapped victims calling for help under the rubble, describing the incomplete building as poorly constructed with no major maintenance since construction started.
“Everybody in the community knows the building is very weak, yet they allowed services and activities inside,” an eyewitness said.
Operations to check for any more worshippers are continuing and the debris is being cleared.
The incident has reignited the debate about the structural integrity of some of the buildings in the country.
It has also reminded people of the 2012 collapse of a multi-storey shopping centre that was attributed to poor construction.
By BBC News
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