Eight people die from Melcom Shopping Mall disaster

  Accra, Nov. 8, GNA – The Ghana National Fire Service (GNFS) said on Thursday that eight bodies have so far been recovered from the debris of the collapsed Melcom Shopping Mall at Achimota and 77 people rescued.   Mr Prince Billy Anaglate, the Deputy Public Relations Officer of the GNFS, told the Ghana News Agency at the site that casualty figures should be verified from the Service.    “We are in charge here with all the statistics and you must check from us before going on air to avoid giving conflicting figures,” Mr Anaglate said.     Brigadier-General Dan Nishio, the Director General of Ghana Armed Forces in Charge of Operations, said the rescue team was firmly in charge of the operation.   He said they had managed to keep at bay residents who initially interfered with rescue operations and added “Disaster zones are not safe grounds; people should therefore stay at a reasonable distance to observe and not interfere”.      Brig Gen. Nishio was briefing Dr Michael Abu Sakara Foster, the presidential candidate of the Convention Peoples’ Party (CPP) during a visit to the site.      Dr Sakara commended the rescue team for the sense of responsibility and appealed to them to work around the clock to save more lives.    The CPP presidential candidate, who cut short his campaign tour to visit the disaster zone, said he supported the government’s call for immediate investigation and those responsible for the disaster must answer for their negligence.     He expressed sympathy of the CPP to the bereaved families and wished the injured speedy recovery.   Mr Arvinder Singh, Chief Operations Officer of Melcom Group of Companies, said the company rented the building.     More ... Read Full Story