Techiman market building under construction collapses, killing one

A two-storey market store building being constructed at the Techiman Market collapsed at dawn yesterday, claiming  the life of one person who is yet to be identified by the police.

Another victim, Adamu Alhassan, 48, a watchman who escaped death by the skin of his teeth but sustained injuries, is receiving treatment at the Techiman Holy Family Hospital.

The Techiman Divisional Police Commander, Chief Superintendent Twumasi Ankrah, confirmed the incident to the Daily Graphic.

He said the body of the deceased had also been deposited at the hospital for autopsy.

Eyewitness

According to an eyewitness, Richard Agyapong, the deceased visited Alhassan, the caretaker of the building materials at the site.

He said when Alhassan felt that the building was about to collapse, he took to his heels without alerting the deceased.

He said it took the Ghana National Fire Service (GNFS) some time to remove the deceased from the debris.

Agyapong  expressed worry that no effort had been made by the National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO) and other stakeholders to check whether other people had been trapped in the collapsed building.

“We strongly believed that some people are still trapped in the building because many people had been taking shelter in the uncompleted building,” he stated.

Regional Minister

The Brong-Ahafo Regional Minister, Mr Kwaku Asomah-Cheremeh, who visited the site, expressed shock about the incident.

He attributed the collapse of the building to shoddy work, citing the use of inferior materials in the construction of other buildings in the market.

Mr Asomah-Cheremeh has therefore suspended the building inspector of the Techiman Municipal Assembly pending the result of a committee to be set up to look into the incident.

He also indicated that the court injunction placed on the construction of some buildings in the market by chiefs in the town should be enforced.

The minister ordered individuals whose projects are under construction in the Techiman Market to produce permits and  those who had also completed their projects to submit their documents to the assembly for onwards submission to the Regional Coordinating Council (RCC) for verification and further action.