Collapsed building kills people

Kumasi, Dec. 16, GNA - Massive rescue operation is underway to retrieve the bodies of persons believed to have been buried in the rubble of a four-storey building that collapsed at Asafo in Kumasi, on Friday night. The car park and office building complex, which is under construction at the O&A Travel and Tour terminal at Asafo-Labour is said to have collapsed around midnight.

Unconfirmed reports indicate that the victims were passengers and visitors waiting to pick their relatives from the bus terminal. Cars and other valuable items are also said to have been buried in the rubble.

Rescue workers from the Fire Service, Police and other private construction firms as well as sympathisers were busily working at the scene to retrieve the trapped victims. The Police are unable to give the number of people who might have been trapped under the rubble but eyewitnesses and residents in the area say about eight people were believed to be under the building before it collapsed.

When GNA visited the scene a large crowd of sympathisers had gathered while heavy duty rescue machines were in operation.

The cause of the collapse of the building is not yet known. The Managing Director of the O&A Travel and Tours Company Limited, Mr Opoku Agyeman was not immediately available for comments but the Police have begun investigations into the cause of the tragedy.