Collapsed Building Kills Famous Photographer in Cape Coast a Day Before His 84th Birthday

• A building collapse during a downpour in Cape Coast on June 21 led to the death of two elderly persons
• The deceased were identified as Obaapanyin Ataa Panyin, aged 79, and Opanyin Emmanuel Ankrah, aged 83
• The Cape Coast local government moved to demolish weak building structures to prevent future disasters

Two elderly persons died in Cape Coast on June 21 after a building collapsed on them following a heavy downpour.

Graphic Online reported that the deceased, Obaapanyin Ataa Panyin, 79, and Opanyin Emmanuel Ankrah, 83, were recovered after the collapse.

Ankrah would have celebrated his 84th birthday on June 22. He was a famous photographer in Cape Coast, popularly known as Ankwesi.

The two were pronounced dead by medical staff at the Cape Coast Teaching Hospital, where the disaster response team had rushed them.

Three others who were also trapped under the debris were successfully rescued by the combined team of personnel from the police, Ghana National Fire Service (GNFS), the National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO) and volunteers from the community.

Response to the building collapse

The Metropolitan Chief Executive for Cape Coast, Justice George Arthur, said similar weak structures would be demolished to prevent future disasters.

He said he had visited the collapsed home and other residential properties earlier that morning and had urged the occupants to move to safety shortly before the building collapsed.

The Central Regional Director of the National Disaster Management Organisation, Kwesi Dawood, said many structures in the metropolis had been earmarked for demolition due to the suspicious structural integrity of those properties.

Two of them, he said, had been demolished already, with three others expected to be demolished later in June.

One person dies in crash near UCC

A devastating accident occurred on June 19, 2025, in front of the second gate of the University of Cape Coast.

One person died after a collision involving a tipper truck loaded with sand and three vehicles. The affected cars included an SUV, a sedan, and a rickshaw, locally known as 'pragya'.

CCTV footage captured the horrific incident, which showed the tipper truck running over a pedestrian who was waiting to cross the road.

The impact was severe, causing extensive damage to the vehicles involved. An occupant of the red saloon car was found unconscious and rushed to the hospital for treatment.

This unfortunate incident sparked concerns about road safety in Ghana, particularly around busy intersections and areas with high pedestrian traffic. Authorities may need to review safety measures and enforcement to mitigate such risks.

While there were no details on the emergency response, authorities must investigate the incident thoroughly to determine the cause and prevent similar accidents in the future.

UCC final-year student dies in explosion

YEN.com.gh reported that a University of Cape Coast student died tragically after a gas explosion in the Central Region.

The death of Candy Osei Abora left students and lecturers of Valco Hall and the wider university community reeling.

The university hall confirmed the news in an emotional statement, promising details about her funeral arrangements.

Proofreading by Samuel Gitonga, copy editor at YEN.com.gh.

Source: YEN.com.gh