The Engineering Council in Ghana has initiated investigations into the collapse of a three-storey building at Ofankor within the Ga North Municipality of Accra.
This comes after a video capturing the collapse of the building under construction went viral on social media on Saturday, September 23.
No casualties were recorded, but it is unclear what caused the damage.
In a press release, the Council revealed that, in collaboration with the National Disaster Management Organization (NADMO), and the Ghana Police Service, they had visited the site shortly after the news to carry out a preliminary assessment of the damage.
They issued strict instructions to the caretaker to keep the place locked since it was a walled compound, and ensure that nothing interferes with the rubble until an official inspection by the Council’s technical team.
This happened today at Ofankor. No news of any fatalities at the moment pic.twitter.com/tWCnhUSoQF
— Nana Kwaku Agyemang (@kwasinom) September 23, 2023
“Unfortunately, by the time the team got to the site on Monday, the owners and caretakers had cleared and disposed of the entire debris away from the site. It must be stated that with the current situation, detailed forensic investigations on the collapse will be more challenging,” parts of the statement read.
The Council noted that despite the difficulty, they would work diligently with NADMO, the police and other partners to ensure that it undertakes as much investigation as they can with the available debris, access to the site and information from the necessary collaborative state entities.
“On this note, the Council wishes to remind the general public that anytime there is a disaster such as a building collapse, the location becomes a crime scene and any attempt(s) to tamper with anything on site is also a crime and hampers effective investigations into the disaster. The critical outcomes of this investigation will be shared with the relevant state authorities as well as the general public together with recommendations to guide all affected parties.”
The Council also urged the general public to engage licensed engineering practitioners, firms and entities in the design, construction and supervision of all structures and services of an engineering nature as required by the Engineering Council Act, 2011 (Act 819) and the Engineering Regulations 2020 (LI 2410).
“Similarly, the Architects Act, Act 1969, NLCD 357 enjoins all developers to use qualified Architects and in good standing to design their buildings in Ghana.”
Read the full statement below:
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