One of the casualties in Sunday’s building collapse at the North Industrial Area at Avenor in Accra has been identified as Elizabeth Donkor, a trader and a mother of four.

She is said to be in her 40s and has three girls and a boy.

Her ex-husband, Ernest Korbah, has told Graphic Online that Elizabeth was living in the building that collapsed on Sunday.

According to him, he only heard about the ex-wife’s demise on Monday, and that it was one of his daughter’s friend, who phoned him with information about the tragic incident.

Speaking to Graphic Online's Caleb Vanderpuye at the scene of the incident on Monday, Mr Korbah said he was on his way to the Kaneshie Police station for the official processes in identifying Esther, but has been told by the neighbours that, she was the person who got trapped under the rubble.

Two people were confirmed dead, with two others in critical condition, after the three-storey building collapsed Sunday morning in Accra. 

The two survivors, who were in critical condition, were sent to the Greater Accra Regional Hospital after they were rescued by personnel of a joint team of security personnel of the Ghana National Fire Service, the Ghana Armed Forces, the Ghana Police Service, the National Ambulance Service and the National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO).

The combined efforts in the search and rescue operation lasted throughout the day as they combed through the debris for more possible survivors.

Eyewitnesses

Some residents in the area said the building had been occupied for both residential and commercial purposes.

Prior to its collapse, it was connected to another two-storey residential structure.

The eyewitnesses said they heard a loud bang which triggered panic among residents and traders in the area as sections of the structure crumbled without warning.

Emergency personnel secured the area shortly after the incident to commence rescue efforts at the site despite intermittent rainfall at the time.

They restricted access to the site to facilitate rescue operations and prevent further casualties.

The team deployed earth-moving equipment and manual rescue methods to remove concrete slabs and twisted metals that obstructed access to sections beneath the rubble.

They also brought down the remaining parts of the structure due to its unstable nature and the danger it posed.