At least 17 worshippers have lost their lives in eastern Ghana after a three-storey church building collapsed.
Local officials on Thursday said more people are feared trapped in the rubble.
According to a survivor, about 60 people were inside the Church of Prosperity building when it collapsed on Tuesday in the town of Akyem Batabi.
Eight people were pulled out alive but 17 corpses were recovered by the rescue officials.
National Disaster Management Organisation official Gyan Willington said:
“We’re bringing more excavators to clear the rubble.”
“We fear there are more people trapped down there.”
Eastern Region Minister Eric Darfour said the survivors had been taken to the hospital.
“We do not have an idea of the number of people still trapped but the rescue mission is ongoing,” Darfour said.
However, the cause of the accident remains unknown but the church’s founder, Prophet Isaac Ofori, popularly known as Akoa Isaac, was assisting police with its investigation.
Survivor Mavis Antwi said that worshippers inside the church “heard portions of the building coming down”.
“We started running away, some of the people managed to escape but others were trapped,” she said.
