Two women and a man died on Sunday when a three-storey building used as a church collapsed on worshippers in Accra, Ghana.
Ghana’s Interior Minister Muntaka Mohammed-Mubarak confirmed that 20 others worshippers mostly women and children, were rescued and receiving treatment in various hospitals in Accra.
He disclosed that there was likely no persons still trapped in the building.
It was gathered that emergency teams worked through the night under floodlights to search the rubble for victims.
However, the cause of the collapse of the building, which occurred after heavy rain, remains unknown, and investigations have been launched to determine why the building gave way.
Local media reports said that the structure, located in the New Town area of Accra, was part of a school and had been unfinished for several years.
The reports added that the building was being used for church services. Some eyewitness in the area described the building as “very weak” and poorly maintained and that the community had long been aware of its unsafe condition.
According to the reports, this tragedy has raised urgent questions about building safety standards and the use of unfinished structures for public gatherings in Ghana.
GIK/APA