We wouldnt like to remind ourselves or bring back sorrows to people who lost relatives in the sudden collapse of the Melcom Shopping Center at Achimota dubbed the “Black Wednesday”.
Its almost 5yrs down the line when this sudden incident happened on Wednesday the 7th of November 2012. The nation and part of Africa went into mourning for our lost souls.
Nine people died and nearly 70 were rescued after the major department store collapsed in Ghana’s capital, Accra.
This disaster shook the nation to the core and even got the world’s attention. A team of disaster management experts and medical doctors with trauma expertise from Israel were brought in to help rescue persons trapped under the rubble since it was apparent that Ghana did not have the technical know-how to carry out such a rescue operation.
Rescue efforts were made through the night , a day after the multi-story Melcom storey collapsed just minutes before it was to open for business.
Photos and videos showed a chaotic scene in the hours after the building’s collapse as emergency workers tried desperately to search for survivors.
The multi-story Melcom building, described as “ultra modern,” was located at Achimota suburb of Accra.
The cause of the collapse is still unclear.
How many buildings have been demolished since then? How many fake permits have been issued since then? Has the general public become used to the news of collapsed buildings so much so that it has become all too normal for us?
Let’s make Ghana great!!!!!
-Johnny Black Hayden
HearSayGh 