Body of man drowned on Sunday at Achimota found

Accra, Sept. 7, GNA - The body of the 46-year old man, who got trapped under the bridge linking the Achimota overhead to the main station after the downpour last Sunday was found Wednesday afternoon in the drains near Alajo.

The body of Atia Abugri Ahmed was believed to have been washed there by the force of the flood waters, after frantic efforts by his wife and relatives to rescue him failed.

The man was believed to have been drowned when he got out of his taxi cap, which got stuck in the mud, causing water to enter the car through the bonnet.

A search party, including officials of the National Disaster Management Organization (NADMO), the Ghana Fire Service and the Police had abandoned the search after three days without results. Information gathered by the GNA indicates the body was found by a group of boys looking

for scrap metal near the Alajo drains, who alerted the police. Residents of the area have blamed TAYSEC, the firm undertaking the Achimota Nsawam road construction work, for the accident due to negligence, shoddy work and the long delay in getting the job done.

Many residents of Achimota have expressed concern about the dangerous condition of the road, as there were no danger signs to warn the road users and were at risk when crossing to either sides of the bridge.

They believed that the bridge that got flooded last Sunday night resulting in the death of the man was low and narrow and had caused flooding in the area since its construction. This, they believed, should have been corrected by the construction firm.

The deceased is said to be a Ghanaian citizen and a staff of the Saudi Arabian Embassy.