Accra: Residents of Accra New Town have shared the history behind the collapsed Experimental School building, an incident that reportedly led to fatalities. The incident occurred on Sunday, March 29, 2026, after heavy rainfall caused the structure to cave in while some church members were worshipping in it. Scores of worshippers were reportedly trapped under the rubble for hours before security services intervened to embark on rescue efforts.
According to GhanaWeb, about three people had been reported dead, while twenty survivors are receiving treatment at hospitals in the capital city in the ongoing rescue efforts. Eyewitnesses, in a video sighted by the source, indicated that the structure had long been considered unsafe and had remained largely unused due to visible defects.
One resident, blaming weak enforcement of building regulations, argued that the tragedy could have been averted if authorities had acted earlier. He further alleged that the contractors used inferior materials in the construction, particularly insufficient cement, which may have compromised the building's structural integrity.
The resident provided background on the intended purpose of the structure, indicating that it was originally meant to serve as a school facility but was abandoned due to safety concerns. Another resident shared that the building was never used during their time in school, questioning why the authorities did not demolish it since it wasn't serving any purpose.
The prolonged inaction by authorities was highlighted, questioning why it was allowed to be used for church services. The building had been in a defective state for over a decade. The resident stressed that the presence of people in the building at the time was due to its use for a church service, adding that no one would have been in the building at the time of its collapse if not for the service.
Meanwhile, according to multiple reports, the building had previously been declared unfit for use by the assembly and was earmarked for demolition. Before the collapse, images of the structure showed that the three-storey building was not fully completed.