48hrs After MELCOM Mall Tragedy...Voices Can Still Be Heard Under Rubble

Reports received indicate that voices can still be heard in the rubble of a multi-storey shopping centre at Achimota-Neoplan in Accra, more than 48 hours after it collapsed, rescue workers have said. Rescue efforts are now concentrating on the section where the voices can be heard. Peacefmonline.com can confirm that four people have been identified as still being alive under the rubble in the collapsed Melcom building. They are said to be trapped in a mangled elevator. So far 78 people have been rescued from beneath the debris of the Melcom store - and the death toll rose to 18 following the discovery of nine more bodies on Thursday evening. Four of the victims were buried under slabs of stones; sadly, one of the victims was a pregnant woman. An Israeli rescue team has been using sniffer dogs to help locate people buried under the rubble. Experts have blamed faulty construction for the collapse of the building, which opened earlier this year. On Thursday, the Ghana Institution of Engineering said the building did not have a permit which meant the city authorities may not have inspected the building before it opened. Earlier today, people in nearby buildings owned by the same company, Kinsadus; were ordered to evacuate pending safety inspections. The Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA) ordered three nearby buildings owned by Nana Kwesi Boadu, the director of Kinsadus Company, to be evacuated. These include the branches of two financial institutions; Standard Chartered Bank and Fidelity Bank. A court order posted on the Standard Chartered Bank building on Friday morning states that no-one is allowed access to the building "until appropriate structural adjustments and building permits are regularly obtained from Accra Metropolitan Assembly". Employees of Fidelity Bank have also moved computers and furniture out of the branch. According to the court order, the third building is occupied by Nana Boadu Nkansah Ayeboafo, Chief of Kumasi Nsima and his family. Meanwhile, Mr Boadu turned himself in to Bureau of National Investigations (BNI) this morning after the authorities indicated he was wanted for questioning. Deputy Information Minister Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa confirmed this a short while ago.