The death toll in the tragic collapse of a church building in the Eastern Region has reached 18.

According to state-owned Daily Graphic, as of noon on Thursday, October 22, 2020, half of the debris from the collapse of the Church of Prosperity building at Akyem Batabi in the Asene-Manso District, has been cleared.

The previous death toll from the disaster had been 16.

The three-storey uncompleted building that housed the Church of Prosperity collapsed on Tuesday, October 20, 2020, at about 2:30 pm.

According to reports, owner of the building, Prophet Akoa Isaac, has told Police in his statement that he was sick and lying in his residence on the same compound of the Church when he heard the collapsing of the church.

About 56 worshippers were in and around the building fasting and praying when the incident happened, according to a statement attributed to Prophet Isaac by Starr News.

Meanwhile, residents blame the weak structural integrity of the decades-old building for the disaster.

They say construction of the church building had been ongoing for many decades and this may have caused some pillars of the structure to become weak over time.