Large department store collapses in Accra

07 Nov, 2012

Ghanaian president John Dramani Mahama has suspended his campaign for the nation's upcoming presidential election to visit the scene of a collapsed multi-storey department store in Accra.

Officials say that at least four people died in the five-storey Melcom store which collapsed prior to opening for business on 7 November.

Ghana's vice president Kwesi Amissah-Arthur is coordinating the rescue attempt at the scene which has been declared a disaster zone by the government.

Efforts to free the dozens of people trapped under the rubble are being hampered by a large crowd assembled at the site in the capital's relatively upmarket suburb of Achimota.

The BBC reports that 42 people have been saved, but that officials believe about 50 people where inside the store when it collapsed.

The building opened in February and is rented on a ten-year lease by Melcom, Ghana's largest supermarket chain.