4 times buildings in Ghana have collapsed within the last 8 months

Ghana has experienced building collapses that have resulted in the loss of lives and life-threatening injuries in recent months.

The situation has sparked concerns, particularly among built environment professionals over construction standards, prompting calls for urgent measures to address the growing situation.

GhanaWeb takes a look at 4 instances where buildings have collapsed in the country in the last eight months of 2024.

Building collapse at Kasoa New Market

On Sunday, August 26, 2024, four people lost their lives after a three-storey building collapsed on them at Kasoa New Market, in the Awutu Senya East Municipality of the Central Region.

An eyewitness at the scene recounted in Twi that:

"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 trade as well as workers. This happened at the Kasoa New Market."

Another eyewitness stated the workers were on the second floor when the incident occurred.

He said the carpenter, who was working on the site, died on the spot, while the other three died while being transported to the hospital.

The Ghana National Fire Service has since launched an investigation into the incident.

Sewua building collapse

On July 17, 2024, a mason, believed to be in his early forties, passed away in Sewua in the Ashanti Region after a two-storey building caved in on him when he was working there.

The mason, who was identified as Kwaku Gyemfi, was the lead constructor at the building site where the incident occurred.

According to eyewitnesses, the deceased was constructing some new pillars to support some collapsing ones and parts of the buildings which had cracks.

While work was ongoing, his assistant alerted him that part of the building was falling in his direction, but unfortunately he got trapped in the building.

School building collapse at Adeiso

On February 15, 2024, a school building reportedly collapsed on some students and teachers of a public basic school at Adeiso, a community in the Upper West Akim District Assembly of the Eastern Region.

Out of the 50 students who were at the school at that time, 10 got injured, with 4 sustaining serious injuries.

The four severely injured students received treatment at a health facility at Adeiso.

According to eyewitnesses, the collapsed building had been in very bad shape for a long time.

Despite several media reports about the state of the building, nothing was done about it.

The incident occurred after students and teachers rushed in to seek shelter after it started raining during a sports programme at the school.

Building collapse at West Legon:

Four firefighters from the Legon Fire Station sustained injuries when the last floor of a two-storey shop complex collapsed during a fire incident at Westlands, in West Legon, a suburb of Accra.

According to the Ghana National Fire Service, it received a distress call that a building at Westlands, in West Legon, was on fire.

The Legon Fire Station was the first responders in the process of dousing the fire.

Four of the firefighters were injured in the process.

Two of the fire officers who were in critical conditions, received treatment at the University of Ghana Medical Centre. (UGMC)

JKB/AE

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