Kumasi Aboabo residents on rampage

Residents of Aboabo in the Ashanti region blocked roads with burning materials following the death of one man and the flooding of many homes after a downpour last night.

The body of the deceased, a 56 year old from Tongo in the Upper East region floated out of a gutter in the community. He is said to have come to visit a sick brother at the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital when he met his death.

Reports indicate that several homes were also flooded including that of the Assemblyman. The residents, infuriated by Saturday’s floods blocked roads this morning with burning tyres, preventing vehicular movement.

According to them, they have been ignored for far too long and need to catch the attention of the city authorities. They claim this is not the first time the area has been flooded and on several occasions they have been neglected.

They want a bridge connecting the community to the central business district broken or reconstructed. The Police who described their actions as illegal was able to control the situation and appealed to the youth to explore the legal channels to always express their displeasure.

Several residents are still trapped Ina four storey building which has been totally submerged in the floods.

The Fire Service which has been working around the clock to rescue the stranded occupants say it might take them about four hours to save everyone in the building.

The Kumasi Mayor, Kojo Bonsu visited the flooded areas to sympathize with them. He lamented the illegal construction of structures on water ways, which prevent the free flow of flood waters.

The Mayor has hinted that a meeting would be held immediately to find solutions to the perennial flooding.