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Tag: collapse building

  • Building collapse at Awutu Papaase leaves 4-year-old dead, one critically injured

    Building collapse at Awutu Papaase leaves 4-year-old dead, one critically injured

    Residents of Awutu Papaase Number 1 in the Awutu Senya West District are in a state of despair after a building collapse left a four-year-old boy, Godsway Nuchuga, dead, and his 35-year-old elder brother, Seth Nuchuga, in critical condition on Tuesday, April 14.

    According to reports, a heavy downpour caused the collapse of the building in which the victims were trapped. Meanwhile, Seth Nuchuga is receiving treatment at the Winneba Trauma and Specialist Hospital.

    Ghana has witnessed multiple fatalities and severe injuries resulting from devastating building collapses. These incidents have raised significant concerns among professionals in the built environment about construction standards, prompting calls for immediate action.

    On Sunday, March 29, the collapse of an uncompleted four-storey building near the Experimental D/A School in Accra Newtown, claimed the lives of three. A total of 20 were rescued after being trapped.

    The victims were part of a group of worshipers who had gathered inside the structure for service. Unfortunately, the collapse occurred while the service was ongoing, trapping several individuals beneath the rubble.

    According to reports, 23 individuals, comprising 15 females and 8 males, including three minors were caught in the collapse. In 2024, four individuals lost their lives after a three-storey building at Kasoa New Market in the Awutu Senya East Municipality in the Central Region collapsed.

    Eyewitnesses described the tragic event, noting that the victims included young workers and trainees. “The sad incident happened at Kasoa. This three-storey building collapsed, and four people have died; may their souls rest in peace. This is so sad. Some are young girls learning a trade as well as workers. This happened at the Kasoa New Market.”

    According to eyewitnesses, the three-storey building caved in while workers were on the second floor. Among the deceased was a carpenter who died on the spot. The other deceased persons lost their lives while being transported to the hospital.

    A mason in his early forties lost his life on July 17, 2024, while working on a two-storey building in Sewua in the Ashanti Region. The deceased, Kwaku Gyemfi, was the lead constructor at the site. Witnesses reported that Gyemfi was attempting to reinforce collapsing pillars when the structure failed.

    His assistant had warned him of the impending collapse, but he was trapped before he could escape.

    A school building in Adeiso in the Upper West Akim District of the Eastern Region collapsed on February 15, 2024, during a rainstorm. The collapse injured 10 out of 50 students present, with four suffering severe injuries.

    Despite ongoing concerns about the building’s deteriorating condition, no preventive measures were taken. The incident occurred as students and teachers sought shelter during a sports event.

    In West Legon, Accra, a two-storey shop complex collapsed during a fire incident, injuring four firefighters from the Legon Fire Station. The fire service had responded to a distress call about a blaze at the location.

    The collapse occurred as they were working to extinguish the fire. Two of the injured firefighters were treated at the University of Ghana Medical Centre for their critical conditions.

    Earlier this year, the Ghana National Fire Service (GNFS) spent more than two hours rescuing a construction worker trapped under a collapsed building at the Kasoa New Market in the Central Region. The old residential structure was reportedly undergoing renovation by masons hired by the building’s owner.

    In a similar development, a pit collapse at an illegal mining site at Kasotie in the Atwima Mponua District of the Ashanti Region on Wednesday night, October 1, claimed the lives of seven illegal miners who were trapped underground.

    According to reports, the pit collapse, which occurred on Wednesday night, October 1, also left four injured, while several miners were feared trapped. Meanwhile, rescue efforts were carried out by the National Disaster Management Organization (NADMO) in collaboration with emergency services and local volunteers.

    For years, the country’s efforts to nip the canker in the bud have not yielded the needed results. Among recent measures taken to protect water bodies from illegal miners is the deployment of the National Anti-Illegal Mining Operations Secretariat (NAIMOS).

    The Secretariat includes the Ghana Armed Forces, the Ghana Police Service, the Ghana Immigration Service, the National Intelligence Bureau (NIB), the Narcotics Control Commission, and the National Security Secretariat.

    Addressing the security forces, the Minister for Lands and Natural Resources, Emmanuel Amarh Kofi-Buah, directed the team to ruthlessly counter the activities of galamsey operators as they are the enemies of the state.

    “Any recalcitrant entering into these zones is not merely a trespasser. They are an enemy of the state. You are to be firm. You are to be resolute. You are to be ruthless.

    “And please, take it from me, you will take no obstructionist instruction from any big man. Remember, the biggest man in Ghana is the President of the Republic, and he’s the one who has sent you,” Mr. Kofi-Buah charged.

  • Fire Service commences investigation into collapsed building at Kasoa

    Fire Service commences investigation into collapsed building at Kasoa

    The Kasoa Municipal Fire Command has begun an investigation to ascertain the cause of the collapse of a health centre under construction in the Assemblies community of the Ga South Municipality.

    Tragically, the incident claimed the life of one individual, while four others sustained severe leg fractures.

    Eyewitnesses have reported that the structure collapsed during heavy rainfall.

    There are concerns among some individuals regarding the construction materials’ quality, implying it might have played a role in the collapse.

    “It may appear that inferior materials were used, as we can all see when we touch the building, it feels like it is made of scrap. However, this does not necessarily mean that inferior materials were used. We need to conduct further investigations to determine if this is indeed the case, and to find out if the engineer is qualified and has followed the proper procedures for constructing the building. These factors will need to be considered in order to determine whether shoddy work was done or whether the right thing was done,” the Municipal Fire Commander in Kasoa said.

  • How some shop owners in Wa escaped death

    Correspondence from Upper West Region

    A provision shop owner and a seamstress have escaped death by the whiskers in the Wa Municipality of the Upper West Region after a tipper truck fully loaded with sand veered off the road and ran into their shops, destroying parts of the shops in the process.

    The incident occurred on Wednesday, February 16, 2022, when the truck with registration number GW 9829 R which was coming from the Wa Senior High direction of the Banjan street heading to the Lawmars drinking spot junction, burst its front tire of the passenger side, losing control of the vehicle in the process and eventually rammed the truck into the shops.

    An eye witness, Iddrisu Salifu narrating the incident to GhanaWeb’s Upper West Regional correspondent, IIyaas Alhassan said the tipper truck first demolished a kebab stand situated in front of the shops whose attendant had not yet come to work, before demolishing the veranda to the provision store and finally running into the tailoring shop.

    He added that: “the seamstress, as well as her apprentices in the other shop near the provision shop, had to run very fast for their dear lives to escape what would have been a tragedy here. Immediately the truck came to a halt, the driver went straight into the provision store to see whether or not something had happened to the owner but luckily, the woman was inside the shop when the incident happened and nothing happened to her.”


    There was no casualty recorded from the incident.

    Attempts to get a response from the shop owner and driver was unsuccessful as they both appeared too traumatized to utter a word. 

    The only response that came from the shop owner whose name was only given as Hajia was her continuous muttering of, “God, thank you. God, thank you.. God, thank you,” apparently thanking her Lord for sparing her life.

    The Police were at the accident scene to assess the situation in order to commence investigations into the matter but efforts to speak to them were unsuccessful as they declined to comment.

    Source: www.ghanaweb.com

  • One dies, six rescued as three-storey building collapses in Lagos, Nigeria

    One person was confirmed dead while six others were rescued alive, weekend, underneath the rubbles of a three-storey building which collapsed on Freeman Street, Lagos Island, Lagos State.

    The incident occurred at about 4.05 am as the building was said to have suffered total collapse leaving its occupants trapped as they were fast asleep due.

    The immediate neighbours of the victims were said to have alerted emergency responders about the incident but on arrival, the first victim to be recovered was a male child who could not withstand the situation and was pronounced dead.

    However, six other occupants of the building were rescued alive and medical treatment was administered on them by Lagos State Ambulance Services (LASSMBUS), while the casualty was deposited at a morgue.

    As at the time of filing this report, search and rescue operation was ongoing at the scene, thanks to Lagos State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA), Lagos State Ministry of Physical Planning, Nigeria Police and other relevant agencies.

    LASEMA Director-General Dr Olufemi Oke-Osanyintolu has confirmed the incident saying investigations will be conducted to unravel the cause of the incident.

    Source: vanguardngr.com

  • Collapsed building kills one person at Gomoa, two in critical condition

    A 4-year-old boy, Kofi Baah, has met his untimely death, while two others are still in a critical condition after their one-bedroom building collapsed on them at Gomoa Jukwaa near Agona Swedru in the Gomoa Central District of the Central Region.

    The mother of the deceased, Maame Efua Pentsewa, in an interview with Atinka News, said she went out to ease herself and immediately she stepped out, the building collapsed on her children during a heavy downpour.

    Maame Efua is, therefore, appealing to Ghanaians to come to her aid to enable her to get new accommodation since where to sleep now has become a challenge to her.

    Meanwhile, the District Chief Executive(DCE) for the Gomoa Central Hon Benjamin Kojo Otoo, also urged Ghanaians to adopt maintenance culture especially those residing in mud house buildings to save lives and properties.

    The body of the deceased has been deposited at the Agona Swedru Government Hospital morgue whiles the rest of the children are still on admission at the same hospital receiving treatment.

    Source: Atinka FM