<<Print>>

THREE PERSONS have been confirmed dead at Sakumono, Agbogbloshie and Dome in Accra following last Thursday�s torrential rainfall which lasted for more than 10 hours. Bodies of the deceased � a male and two females � were discovered by the police yesterday after the rain had stopped. The male victim was identified as Daniel Agoe Ashikwei, 54. According to the Accra Regional Crime Officer, Chief Superintendent Paul Kontomah, the man got drowned when he tried driving through the flood at Community 20, Tema. The VW vehicle with registration number AS 8726 W, Chief Superintendent Kontomah claimed, got trapped in the heavy water that had gathered. He said Ashikwei was already dead when the body was removed from the car. �Efforts are being made to get a crane to pull out the vehicle from the drain,� he told journalists yesterday The body has been deposited at the Police Hospital pending autopsy. The female flood victim, who is believed to be in her early 40s, according to Chief Superintendent Kontomah, was yet to be identified. Her body was discovered at the Agbogbloshie market area yesterday morning with several marks of assault on her. Preliminary investigations, Chief Superintendent Kontomah said, suggested that she might have been attacked and dumped into the running water by her killers. �We are suspecting foul play and would investigate the cause of her cause through a post mortem,� he maintained. He urged family members to contact the police to identify the body. Earlier, media reports suggested that a middle-aged woman believed to have been trapped in a flooded drain was also found dead yesterday at Dome, Accra. The body of the woman, who was yet to be identified, was found close to the residence of the former chairman of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Peter Mac Manu and the National Democratic Congress (NDC) constituency office. The reports indicated that the body was there for close to two hours before the police came to pick it to the morgue for preservation. Last Thursday�s torrential rain wreaked havoc on most parts of the national capital, rendering many homeless and bringing business activities to a standstill as rain water took over homes and streets of the metropolis. Large parts of the Kwame Nkrumah Circle, Kaneshie First Light and the Central Business District of Accra were completely submerged, with residents who were trapped in the flood crying for help. Mahama�s Tour President John Mahama yesterday visited areas affected by Thursday�s floods in Accra to assess the extent of damage to property and lives. According to Citi FM, the President visited only the Mallam and South Odorkor areas. He reportedly sympathized with the flood victims and also emphasized the need for a drainage system to be constructed across the NI Highway to address the problem. Mr. Mahama ordered the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning to release funds for the drain to be constructed immediately. He also called for an extensive education of the populace by the Accra Metropolitan Assembly and all other state agencies, for Ghanaians to change their behavior towards waste management practices.