Akyem Batabi collapse: 22 dead, several others missing but NADMO halts search and rescue

Residents and families around the collapsed Church of Prosperity building have indicated that there are more persons trapped under the rubbles of the building.

Residents of Akyem Batabi in the Eastern Region suffered a horrific memory after the Church of Prosperity collapsed, killing 22 of its members.

Rescue operations by the National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO), police and military retrieved 30 persons. 22 were declared dead while eight others received treatment.

George Ayisi, Communication Director of NADMO has revealed that his outfit ended the search and rescue mission on Friday, dispersing all rescue workers after conducting a mop-up exercise believing to have found all present in the church.

However, information contrary to NADMO’s, reaching Happy 98.9 FM indicates that there may be a lot more people trapped under the rubbles.

Happy 98.9 FM’s Eastern Regional Correspondent, Kwesi Baah Yirenkyi has revealed that family members of the congregation are still around the site looking for their loved ones as at Sunday, 25th October 2020.

“After the 30 people were removed from the rubble, some family members of the congregation are still around. They claim their family members came to church and have not been found yet”.

“They wanted to search for them in the rubbles by themselves but they were not granted access to the site as it is regarded as risky”, he told Samuel Eshun, host of the Happy Morning Show aired on Happy 98.9 FM and e.TV Ghana.

According to him, some people living in the community have also confirmed the claims of these family members.

“A man who lives closer to the church told us not to believe the numbers we’re hearing. He told us the number of people who came to the church was more than the 30 people removed”.

He noted that the people with concern have appealed to the rescue mission team to return to the site and undertake a thorough search.