A boat carrying about 50 mourners from Azizanya to Azizakpe has capsized in the Lower Volta at Ada, killing five.
The accident happened at about 9am, Saturday. According to Gifty Agbashie, who survived the accident, they were about 50 in the boat, including the Skipper, who told the passengers that they were safe to cross the river.
None of the passengers was provided with a life-saving jacket, despite the overloading of the boat.
During the journey, Gifty narrated that some of the passengers asked the Captain to call another boat to reduce the weight of their vehicle, however, he insisted that everybody was safe.
“Water continued to enter into the boat but the Captain kept telling us that there was no cause for worry,” she narrated in Ada, her local dialect.
She said before anybody could say ‘Jack’, the boat had turned and capsized.
“I was lucky to survive after other canoe operators saw the accident and quickly moved their canoes to the accident spot. I held firmly onto the deck of one of the canoes until I was pulled out of the river.
“We were all attending a funeral at Azizakpe, an island community and so there were two crates of minerals in our boat,” Gifty Agbashie told newsmen at Ada.
Ebenezer Teye Kisseh Nartey, the East Ada District NADMO Coordinator told newsmen at the scene that the boat capsized as a result of over-loading.
He confirmed Gifty Agbashie’s claim that none of the passengers onboard was in a life-saving jacket.
He said a rescue operation team, comprising NADMO officials and personnel from the Ghana Navy had gone to search for possible survivors.
The Ada District Divisional Commander, Chief Superintendent Joseph Dzineku and the East Ada District Hospital Director, Dr Philip Narh confirmed the incident to newsmen.
The deceased, two females and three children, have been deposited at the East Ada District Hospital’s morgue.
