Rescue efforts to save those trapped in the Nov. 7 shopping building collapse in Accra were brought to an end late Sunday.

Addressing a press conference here, Director of Public Relations of the Ghana Armed Forces, Colonel M'Bawine Atintande said that 81 persons were retrieved with 14 deaths recorded, while 54 others had been treated and discharged from various hospitals in the city.

"We are happy to announce that as at 1500 hours this afternoon, the rescuers have been able to reach ground zero of the Melcom Shopping Mall. It is expected that with this development, the rescue efforts would formally end," the military spokesman said.

Ghana was hit by the tragedy when the six-storey ultra-modern Melcom Shopping Centre located at Achimota, a suburb of Accra, collapsed in the early hours of Wednesday, trapping both workers and patrons under the rubble.

The rescue team coordinated by the National Disaster Management Organization (NADMO) included Ghana Armed Forces, Ghana National Fire Service, Ghana Police Service, National Ambulance Service, Waste Management company Zoomlion and voluntary Organizations working day and night in frantic efforts to save those trapped under the rubble.

Col. Attntande said the quick response of the national disaster management team was ample demonstration of their preparedness to handle such disasters any time they occurred in the country.

President John Dramani Mahama cut short his campaign tour of the Upper East region to visit the scene of the disaster charging the rescue team to work extra hard in order to save the lives of those trapped in the wreckage.

Deputy Minister for Health, Robert Joseph Mettle-Nunoo, who also addressed the press conference emphasized that police investigations into the cause of the disaster would however continue, warning human scavengers to stay clear of the site till investigations were over.

An eight-man rescue team from Israel arrived in Accra on the afternoon of Nov. 8 to assist the local disaster team in their rescue efforts and departed Ghana on Saturday afternoon. Endi

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