3 children trapped to death in car

Three boys were on Saturday found dead in one of several abandoned cars at a house at Alogboshie near Achimota in Accra.

The property belongs to an Accra businessman, Samuel Kwame Aguadze, owner of Topman Bookshop at Makola.

The children, who were identified as Gabriel Kofi and Edem Asimenu both two and half years, and Kobby Ananfu, two, had gone missing for about six hours that day when they went out to play.

Briefing the Timesyesterday, Mr Samuel Anane, a family spokesperson for Kofi and Ananfu said between 9 am and 10 am on Saturday, parents of the two went round the community in search of children.

After hours of fruitless search the parents reported the matter to the chief of the community, Nana Kuma who insisted on a further search.

The children were eventually found trapped in a car abandoned in Mr Aguadze's house. The matter was reported to the Mile 7 Police at Achimota who picked the bodies to the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital.

Mr Anane said Kofi and Ananfu were cousins while Asimenu was a neighbour.

A police source told the Times that parents of the children and the owner of the house had been invited to help in investigations.

Mr Aguadze described the incident as very unfortunate and wondered how the children got into the house. "I left home for work at about 8 am on Saturday.

"I locked the gate with padlock and I do not know if they entered the house under the gate where there is a space," he said.

A number of residents told the Times that they had on a number of occasions complained to the house owner to either dispose of or relocate the abandoned cars he had parked infront and inside his house.

They said the vehicles attracted fun-seeking children who went to play with them.

This is the second time children have been found dead under similar circumstance recently.

On Wednesday, February 4, three children were found dead in a parked car at an abandoned auto workshop at Anyaa, a suburb of Accra.

The children, Richard Bonna, Justice Anti (both four) and Ekow Frimpong (two) had been reported missing for about six hours. A search party made up of the Police and volunteers, found their bodies in the abandoned vehicle.