By Edward Acquah
Accra, May 5, GNA – Preliminary investigation by the Engineering Council of Ghana into the collapse of a three-storey building in the Adentan Municipality has revealed that the owner of the building extended the approved storey without permit.
A team from the Council, on a visit to the disaster scene on Friday, uncovered that the approved permit for the building was two-storey but the “owner extended it to three without permit.”
Mr Wise Ametefe, the Registrar of the Council, told the Ghana News Agency on Friday that the Council would commence detailed investigations to establish the cause of the disaster from Tuesday, May 9, 2023.
One person was reported dead on Friday after being trapped in the rubble from the collapsed building situated at Nanakrom in the Adentan Municipality Friday morning.
The tragedy occurred barely a week after a similar three-storey building collapsed at Madina in the Greater Accra Region – which reportedly killed one person and injured three others.
Mr Ametefe said the Council had directed workers at the site not to “disturb the composition of the rubbles” to facilitate smooth investigations.
“We are going to test the foundation to see whether it is a foundation problem. We will test the concrete and if possible even the reinforcement,” he said.
Mr Ametefe said the Adentan Municipal Assembly told the Council that they had approved the building but it appeared that the owner developed the structure beyond what was approved.
“The approved permit was two-storey but the owner extended on his own to the third storey,” he said.
Mr Ametefe said the outcome of the investigations would establish if there was any foul play to inform possible sanctions.
The Engineering Council, which is under the Ministry of Works and Housing, regulates the practice of engineering and provide for regulated matters to secure the highest professional standards in the practice of the engineering.
GNA