Three killed as unfinished building collapses on church service in Ghana

Three people, two women and a man, have been confirmed dead after a three-storey building that was being used as a church collapsed on worshippers in the Ghanaian capital, Accra, on Sunday.

Interior Minister Muntaka Mohammed-Mubarak said 20 others, most of them women and children, had been rescued and were being treated in various hospitals. There was a "90-95% certainty" that no-one remain trapped inside, he added.

Emergency teams worked through the night under floodlights searching for victims inside the structure's remains.

The cause of its collapse, which happened after heavy rain, is unknown, with the interior minister saying investigations are under way.

The building itself, which was part of a school in Accra's New Town area, was being used despite lying unfinished for several years, according to local people.

"It's a very sad day for all of us," Mohammed-Mubarak said.

He acknowledged that it had been difficult to determine how many people had been in the building at the time of its collapse, and commended emergency responders for their quick response and rescue efforts through the night.

The national fire service has posted images on X of workers at the site as an agitated crowd mill around the scene.

A man who runs a business opposite the collapsed building said he first heard some noise from behind him and when he turned round, he saw the building coming down.

"There was dust, I couldn't see anything from the back," Amadi Mohamed Afiz told the BBC.

He then heard people shouting from inside the building and called police, who arrived at the scene afterwards.

Other eyewitnesses described the incomplete building as poorly constructed with no major maintenance since construction started.

"Everybody in the community knows the building is very weak, yet they allowed services and activities inside," an eyewitness said.

Afiz told the BBC that the building had looked like it "could fall anytime".

Operations to check for any more worshippers are continuing and the debris is being cleared.

The incident has reignited the debate about the structural integrity of some of the buildings in the country.

It has also reminded people of the 2012 collapse of a multi-storey shopping centre that was attributed to poor construction.

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