ACCRA, Nov 7: Rescuers have so far pulled 39 people out alive from the rubble of a collapsed six-storey shopping centre in the Ghanaian capital Accra, police said, after three people were confirmed dead.

“Thirty-nine people have so far been rescued and sent to the various hospitals in Accra based on the degree of the injury,” Accra police commander Patrick Timbillah told journalists at the scene.

He spoke of one dead, but another police official earlier said three were confirmed dead, a figure which matched the account of witnesses.

There were estimates of 50 workers at the mall ahead of the collapse, but Timbillah said that figure was the total number of employees and not all were there at the time.

“The number was not up to the 50,” he said, adding he was not able to give a total figure. “We will still continue with the search until we rescue the final person.” He said the collapse occurred just before the mall opened.

President John Dramani Mahama, who suspended his campaign ahead of Dec 7 polls after the incident, also visited the scene of the collapse on Wednesday afternoon, calling it a ‘tragedy’.—AFP