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Melcom shop collapse in Ghana: Negligence blamed

2012-11-09 08:28:28

Faulty construction caused a multi-storey shopping centre to collapse in

Ghana's capital, Accra, killing at least nine people, officials have said.

They say the building did not have the necessary permit and so had not had a

safety inspection.

President John Dramani Mahama said those responsible for the "negligence will

pay a price".

Rescue efforts are continuing, with 69 survivors pulled out from under the

rubble since Wednesday, police said.

Mr Mahama suspended his campaign for next month's election, after the disaster

at the Melcom store.

At the scene

Akwasi Sarpong BBC News, Accra

There are about 1,500 people here - some of them have climbed roof tops and

trees - trying to get a glimpse of the rescue operation.

It is far more organised than on Wednesday, when there was confusion,

frustration and anger as people demanded to know how the shopping centre, which

opened earlier this year, could have collapsed.

But the government managed to calm people, after promising an inquiry to

establish whether poor building standards had caused the disaster.

I can see one man breaking down cement blocks with an axe, as rescuers clear

the debris in order to create "wind passages" for people trapped underneath.

Deputy Health Minister Rojo Mettle-Nunoo is wearing a helmet and face mask,

directing ambulances - like a traffic warden - as they rush survivors to

hospitals in Accra.

He also ordered an investigation into why the building, in Accra's Achimota

neighbourhood, collapsed.

A spokeswoman for Ghana's National Disaster Management Organization, Kate

Adobaya, said structural weakness had caused the collapse, AP news agency

reports.

"The foundation was not good enough," she is quoted as saying.

Police spokesman Freeman Tettey told the BBC that rescue teams have so far

pulled out 78 people from beneath the debris - nine of them dead and 69 alive.

It is not known many people are still trapped, he said.

'Bad concrete mix'

An Israeli rescue team has arrived, using sniffer dogs to help locate people

buried under the rubble.

The BBC's Akwasi Sarpong reports from the scene that the rescue operation is

far more organised than on Wednesday, when there was confusion, frustration and

anger as people demanded to know how the shopping centre, which opened earlier

this year, could have collapsed.

Ghana Institution of Engineering Vice-President Magnus Quarshie told the BBC's

Focus on Africa programme that they were still carrying out their

investigations into the disaster.

"However, looking at the debris, it shows workmanship was very, very poor," he

said.

"We can tell the concrete mix was not to the specifications we require," the

AFP news agency reports him as saying.

The building "didn't have a permit, which means that AMA [Accra Municipal

Authority] may not have assigned a building inspector," he said.

AMA Mayor Alfred Vanderpuye said officials had been carrying out checks for the

past two years to identify buildings without permits, "but how we missed this

one, we are going to find out", Ghana's Joy FM radio station reports.

Mr Mahama acknowledged, in comments posted on his website, that the government

did not enforce safety standards when high-rise structures were built.

"We are going to put in place mechanisms to check the safety and security of

other high-rise buildings and find out if there aren't any more such disasters

waiting to happen," he said.

The Melcom Group of Companies, which has retail outlets across Ghana, said it

had closed its stores on Thursday as a mark of respect for the dead.

In a statement on its Facebook page, Melcom said it had rented the building.

"This is indeed a very tragic incident," it said.

Mr Mahama has declared the area a disaster zone.

He cut short a trip to northern Ghana on Wednesday, where he was campaigning

for the 7 December parliamentary and presidential elections.