Two killed by collapsing building - At Okpoi Gonno
A warehouse under construction at Okpoi Gonno, near Baatsona in Accra, collapsed last Monday, claiming two lives and leaving one person seriously injured.
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The deceased have been identified as Emmanuel Avor, aka Obolo, a labourer, and Albert Ackom, a mason. The injured person has been identified only as Kwabena, aka Kobby, a labourer.
The victims were said to be working on the building when it suddenly collapsed, resulting in an extension of a mixed concrete decking they were working on crashing on them.
It took a combined team of personnel from the Ghana National Fire Service (GNFS), the Ghana Police Service and the National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO) about four hours to clear the debris to rescue the injured.
Distress call
Briefing the Daily Graphic, the Public Relations Officer (PRO) of the Accra Regional Police Command, Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) Mrs Afia Tenge, said about 1:20 p.m. on June 5, 2017, the Baatsona Police received a distress call that a building under construction at the Okpoi Gonno Taxi Rank had collapsed.Immediately, she said, the Baatsona Divisional Police Commander, Chief Superintendent of Police Mr Felix Cosmos, informed the GNFS, the National Ambulance Service and NADMO.
Immediately, she said, the Baatsona Divisional Police Commander, Chief Superintendent of Police Mr Felix Cosmos, informed the GNFS, the National Ambulance Service and NADMO.After digging through the debris, the extension of a mixed concrete decking was finally removed.
After digging through the debris, the extension of a mixed concrete decking was finally removed.Although Kwabena, the first to be rescued, was unconscious, he was immediately taken to the Police Hospital in Accra where he is receiving attention.
The two other victims, Avor and Ackom, were, however, dead when they were removed from the debris.Their bodies have been deposited at the Police Hospital mortuary pending autopsy.One of the victims, David Aminu
One of the victims, David Aminu Yahaha, who sustained minor injuries on the arms and legs, told the Daily Graphic that the workers were working on an extension of the newly constructed warehouse when the platform on which they were laying blocks caved in, killing the two on the spot.
While expressing concern over the lack of appropriate safety procedures at the site, Yahaya said the platform under construction was made to hang on bamboo reinforcements, instead of concrete pillars.
He also blamed the structural integrity of the facility which, he said, was not properly laid out, with most of the adjustments made to the building being afterthoughts.
“While we were working about 12 noon on Monday, a woman who lives nearby drew our attention to the fact that the structure could collapse, looking at how weak the bamboos holding the platform were.
“Some of our colleagues who were under the structure immediately stopped work and left, but some of us continued to work till we heard the woman screaming that the building was coming down,” Yahaya told the Daily Graphic at the accident scene last Monday evening.
“I was lucky to have jumped down from the second floor to avoid coming down with the structure, otherwise I would have been among those who died,” he said.
Waterlogged
Some property owners in the area are said to have raised concerns over the construction of the warehouse, which is located at a waterlogged area.
The authorities at the Ledzokuku Krowor Municipal Assembly (LEKMA) have indicated that they stopped the builders from continuing with the construction works last year.
The builders were also asked to produce their building permit for the warehouse, but they failed to do so and rather went ahead with the work.