Two construction workers killed, another injured by falling wall

Two workers working on a construction site at Ashongman Estate in the Ga East municipality were killed instantly and another seriously injured when a wall collapsed on them.

The workers were among five persons constructing a drainage system as part of a road construction project on behalf of the Ga East Municipal Assembly and got trapped in a dug trench when a fence wall close to where they were working and which was earmarked for demolition collapsed on them.

Residents of the area joined the two remaining workers to rescue the three men who were buried beneath a pile of cement blocks and concrete.

It was found after the rescue that one of the three victims of the disaster, identified as Richard Ankrah, had died. All three had injuries all over their bodies.

The two other victims — Richard Darko, 37, and Tommy Dogbenu, 36 — were taken to the Ashongman Community Hospital, where Darko was said to have died shortly after arrival.

Dogbenu, on the other hand, was given first aid and referred to the 37 Military Hospital.

On its visit to the scene of the accident, the Daily Graphic found that the trenches the construction workers had dug were very close to the walling of some of the buildings in the area, such that some had their foundations for the walls showing.

According to an eyewitness, Kojo Okoree, the incident happened about 7:30 a.m. when the workers were placing concrete slabs in the trenches. 

He said the residents had, on many occasions, complained to the assembly member for the area about the inherent danger in digging very close to homes.

Scene at the grounds

When the Daily Graphic got to Little Dome in the Ashongman Estates, where the accident took place, about 9:30 a.m., a team of policemen, the Assembly Member for the area, Mr Cornelius Addo, and officials from the Ga East Municipal Assembly and the National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO) were assisting to demolish structures that were in the way of the construction project.  

Residents of the area, who were visibly angry, pointed fingers at the officials and accused them of being negligent.

Police at the scene

The team of policemen at the scene included the Greater Accra Regional Police Commander, Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCOP) Mr Frederick Adu Amin, and the Kwabenya District Commander, Superintendent Damontin Kombat.

The Public Relations Officer of the Accra Regional Police Command, Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Mrs Effia Tenge, who was also with the team, told the Daily Graphic that the police received a distress call about the incident about at 8 a.m. yesterday.

She said the remains of the deceased workers had been deposited at the Police Hospital mortuary for autopsy, while investigations into the incident were ongoing.