Collapsed church building: meet the taxi driver who helped find 17 victims

So far 22 out of 30 missing people have been brought out from the rubble of the Church of Prosperity at Akyem Batabi in the Eastern Region

Joseph Appiah-Dolphyne October 26, 2020

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Kwabena Boahene, also known as “Cote d’Ivoire”, has gained popularity through the search-and-rescue operation at the collapsed church building in Akyem Batabi.

Boahene has helped to bring out 17 individuals, two of whom are still alive.

He was speaking to Asaase Radio’s correspondent in the Eastern Region, John Apau Attafuah, about his experience.

“I pray with a lady pastor and on that Tuesday [20 October 2020] I called her and she asked me to pick her up so we can go and pray. When I got to the scene I felt the need to help out. It’s God who gave me the strength.

“I never thought about coming to assist in this manner, so if I have been able to help then it is God. I have been able to remove 17 people from the rubble and two of them are alive. It was a very difficult situation because of the dust, and it was also difficult to breathe while I was down there,” Boahene said.

He added: “One of the victims was knocking while in the rubble and that helped us to go there and rescue him. I never thought of anything else but to save the people trapped there.”

Training in the offing

Meanwhile, Henry Quartey, the deputy national security minister, said Boahene’s heroic moves, which helped rescuers during the operation, have been noticed.

He said Boahene would be trained to assist in future rescue operations.

“There is a young man [Boahene] whose talent has been revealed,” Quartey said. “He got into the rubble and rescued a lot of people.

“So immediately, the director general of NADMO [the National Disaster Management Organisation] and the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) are going to make sure he is trained and used for rescue operations …”

The search-and-rescue operation at the collapsed church building ended on Friday (23 October).

Rescue workers combed through the rubble overnight as they searched for about 60 worshippers said to be praying in the building at the time of its collapse on Tuesday, 20 October 2020.

Listen to the deputy minister for national security, Henry Quartey, talking about the rescue mission.