An uncompleted building has collapsed in the Ghanaian capital Accra, devastating local residents around the area.

The seven storey building was said to have collapsed at about 4:15am local time on Thursday morning at Nii Boi Town, a suburb in the city.

Local media say five are feared dead and dozen others may be trapped under the rubble, raising serious concerns about how city authorities issue building permits to building owners.

A woman, two children and some men were said to be sleeping in the building when the incident happened. People sleeping in an uncompleted building are common in Ghana.

An eyewitness to the incident, Mark Eshun told a local radio station, Joy FM in the capital Accra, that he saw one man coming out of the building at about 4:15am to wash his face and after the man went back into the building, it collapsed.

“The building started collapsing just after the man went back inside, the whole building started collapsing, all the building was coming down, it started dropping and all the area was filled with dust’’, Mr. Eshun said in a very pathetic voice.

Rescue operations are underway with security personnel made up of the police, the national ambulance and fire services on the ground hoping to rescue some people trapped under the debris.

The Mayor of Accra, Alfred Oko Vanderpuye is leading the rescue operation at the scene with excavators to try and rescue those who might have been trapped under and as well as clear the rubble.

The police say they have already launched investigations into the matter and would not like to jump to conclusion or speculate about the cause of the disaster.

Building collapsing is uncommon in Ghana but in 2012, a six story building collapsed on workers and scores of people in the capital, Accra. The building was occupied by an Indian trading company, Melcom Group of Companies.

Issaka Adams / NationalTurk Africa News

Writer’s Email Address: Adamsisska@googlemail.com