ACCRA, Jan 25 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Eight school children in Ghana’s Bono East Region were killed Tuesday after the boat taking them to school capsized on the Volta Lake, officials confirmed.
National Disaster Management Organization (NADMO) told the media that the eight — five boys and three girls aged five to 12 — were among 20 pupils who were on their way to school in Wayokope, a community across the lake.
Ibrahim Wudonyim, a coordinator of NADMO, said the Marine Police Unit of the Ghana Police Service, assisted by some locals, have recovered the bodies of the deceased.
The news website reports that the eight deceased pupils were among 20 others who were travelling from Atikagome to Wayokope when the incident occurred midway into the journey.
Wudonyim said that his outfit got information about the tragedy late and there was little they could do to save the lives of the victims.
He added that it occurred in a small fishing community where the only school in the area is located.
A similar tragic incident occurred on Thursday, April 14 last year in which seven out of twenty people travelling on the same Volta Lake died after the boat capsized. It occurred in the Afram Plains area of the Eastern Region.
The passengers were travelling from Dzemani to Havekope, but at about 8 am, they encountered a heavy storm on the lake, which overwhelmed them. Some of the passengers were rescued by local fishermen, but seven drowned.
Also, in May 2020, five people died after a boat carrying 25 passengers from Dzemeni to Agalakope was hit by a heavy storm, causing it to capsize. Ten people were immediately rescued but the others perished.
One of the victims, an 18-year-old boy, saved himself, but his 60-year-old mother, Adjoa Ahilehe, didn’t survive.
Also, in 2021, six people reportedly died when the canoe in which they were travelling on the same Volta Lake encountered strong winds and capsized.
The incident occurred in the Biakoye District of the Oti Region, killing four females and two males, while four other passengers were saved.
According to the Police Commander for Nkonya, DSP David Asirifi Donkor, information gathered from eyewitnesses indicated that the passengers on board the canoe were returning to their villages after going to work on their farms. — NNN-AGENCIES
