Peacefmonline.com can confirm that the owner of the collapsed Melcom Shopping complex, Nana Boadu Nkansah Ayeboafo, together with the Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA) Ga West Director of Works, Mr. Carl Henry Clerk, are still in the custody of the Bureau of National Investigations (BNI).

The two are currently being questioned by the BNI for roles they may have played in triggering the disaster.

They are believed to have acted negligently resulting in the collapse of the Achimota branch of the Melcom shop which has claimed the lives of more than 10 people so far.

Deputy Information Minister, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa confirmed that as of 6pm Friday, the two were still in BNI custody.

Mr Henry Clerk was invited for questioning together with two others, Ramesh Sadhwani, Co-Managing Director of Melcom and one Victor Mensah, also from Melcom on Thursday. But after some hours of grilling, the two Melcom staff were allowed to go, whiles the AMA Works Director was detained overnight.

Early on Friday, the owner of the collapsed building turned himself in after he was declared wanted by the BNI.

Meanwhile, rescue operation is said to be hampered by the strong stench emanating from the underneath of the rubble.

Hope fades

As of Friday evening, rescuers could not also communicate with four other people trapped in a mangled elevator, with whom they could communicate earlier in the day as they were no longer responding to their calls.

Over 80 people have so far been rescued from the disaster scene.

In a related development, fifty-two people who were rescued from the building, reunited with their families for the first time since the building collapsed on Wednesday morning, after they were treated and discharged.

Of the number, 21 people were discharged from the 37 Military hospital, 26 from the Achimota hospital, two from the Police hospital while the remaining three were discharged from the Korle Bu Teaching hospital.