A six-storey shopping mall collapsed in the Ghanaian capital Accra on Wednesday, with at least three people so far confirmed dead and dozens of victims feared trapped, sparking desperate rescues. Police said around 50 employees were reported to be in the building before the collapse on Wednesday morning. It was not immediately clear if customers were also inside, with one worker saying the mall had yet to open.
President John Dramani Mahama suspended his campaign ahead of December 7 elections and offered prayers for those trapped. Thousands thronged the site, including family members in search of relatives. "My son, my son, my son! My son is going to die! Get him for me! He is my only son!" one woman could be heard screaming.
Assistant Police Superintendent Freeman Tettey told journalists that three people had so far been confirmed dead and six rescued, as workers rushed to find those buried with the west African heat bearing down. "According to information that I gathered when I got here, about 50 employees were in the building before it collapsed," Tettey said. Family members could be seen at the site attempting to call relatives who may be trapped, while scores of rescue workers at the scene sought to clear debris and get oxygen masks to victims.
A man who saw his brother being put in an ambulance on a stretcher yelled out in agony: "He can't move! He can't move!" The cause of the collapse of the Melcom shopping mall in the centre of the capital was not immediately clear. Workers from a nearby construction site were urgently called over to help dig through the rubble.
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