One person has tragically died following the collapse of a four-storey building under construction in Sewua, located within the Bosomtwe District of the Ashanti Region.
Witnesses reported from the scene that the incident occurred on Wednesday afternoon (17 July) while the victim was having lunch.
According to Prince Kwame Adutwum, the Assemblyman for the Sewua Electoral Area, emergency services worked tirelessly to extract the victim’s body from the rubble. Despite efforts to save him, the victim succumbed to his injuries upon arrival at the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital. The identity of the deceased has not yet been confirmed.
Adutwum described the events leading to the collapse: “His apprentice returning from an errand first signalled him of the impending danger, but he got trapped under the rubble in an attempt to escape.”
Recognizing the gravity of the situation, an immediate joint investigation into the incident has been launched. Authorities have summoned the private developer responsible for the construction to assist in the inquiries, demonstrating the urgency and seriousness with which this matter is being handled.
“I rushed to the scene following a distress call and found a four-to-five-storey building under construction that had caved in,” Adutwum recounted.
Concerns over construction standards and material quality have emerged in the aftermath of the collapse. The Ghana Chamber of Construction Industry has blamed Metropolitan, Municipal, and District Assemblies (MMDAs) for failing to adequately regulate and supervise building projects.
The Chamber’s spokesperson highlighted the urgent need for stricter enforcement of construction regulations. He pointed out issues of developers employing unqualified personnel and cutting corners in building projects, emphasizing the need for a more robust regulatory framework to prevent such tragedies.
“There are technologies in the system that are well advanced, that can only be operated by professionals. But what do we see? Developers fall on any roadside mason, call them to site and give them whatever amount of money they want and expect them to deliver quality for them,” Mr Cherry, the Chamber’s representative, lamented.
He called on authorities to take immediate and decisive actions against errant developers and MMDAs to curb the recurrence of such tragedies in the construction sector, underlining the urgency of this matter.
The incident underscores ongoing challenges in ensuring structural integrity and safety standards in building practices across Ghana
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