Accra: The Ghana Maritime Authority (GMA) has confirmed a fatal boat disaster that occurred on the Volta Lake near Kete Krachi, resulting in the loss of 15 lives. Four adults survived the accident.
According to Ghana News Agency, the incident happened at approximately 1330 hours when a small boat carrying passengers, reportedly returning from a funeral at Okuma to Bovime in the Krachi West District of the Oti Region, capsized. The GMA, in a press statement issued on Sunday, indicated that preliminary reports suggest the boat was overloaded beyond its safe operational capacity.
The statement highlighted that 11 of the deceased were children between the ages of two and 14 years, comprising five males and six females. The remaining four victims were adults, three women and one man, aged between 18 to 64 years.
The bodies of 12 of the deceased have been deposited at the Kete Krachi and Worawora Government Hospital Mortuaries, while the remaining three children have been laid to rest. The GMA described the incident as a critical and unacceptable breach of safety standards and assured its commitment to a full, transparent, and decisive corrective action.
In response, the GMA has deployed a specialised investigative team, comprising maritime safety inspectors and personnel from the Navy Task Force in Dambai, to the scene. Their mandate is to establish the precise cause of the accident, identify any violations of safety regulations, and ensure that all responsible parties are held accountable under the law.
