Three people — two women and a man — tragically lost their lives on Sunday when a three-storey unfinished building being used as a church suddenly collapsed during a service in Accra’s New Town area.
The incident happened after heavy rains, sending the structure crashing down on worshippers inside. Emergency teams worked tirelessly through the night, using floodlights to search the rubble.
Thankfully, 20 others — mostly women and children — were pulled out alive and are receiving treatment in nearby hospitals.Interior Minister Muntaka Mohammed-Mubarak described the day as “very sad for all of us.” He confirmed that rescuers are almost certain no one else is still trapped inside.Local people say the building had been standing unfinished for several years and was part of a school complex. Many in
the community knew it was poorly built and shaky, yet church services and activities continued there.One eyewitness who runs a business nearby told the BBC he heard a loud noise, turned around, and saw the building coming down.
There was dust everywhere… I couldn’t see anything,” he said. He immediately heard cries for help from inside and called the police.Another witness put it plainly:
The building looked like it could fall anytime.”This tragedy has stirred up fresh anger and concern about weak enforcement of building regulations in Ghana. Many are asking why an obviously unsafe structure was allowed to be used by people, especially for worship.
The President of the Ghana Institution of Engineers, Ludwing Annang Hesseh, said these kinds of accidents keep happening because existing laws are not properly followed.“It’s a very sad day,” the Interior Minister repeated — words that sum up how many Ghanaians are feeling right now.Our hearts go out to the families who lost loved ones and to everyone affected by this preventable tragedy.