A 19-year-old Junior High School student of Tieku Basic School, in Nsawam Adoagyiri municipality in the Eastern region, has drowned in the Densu River after sneaking out of school to swim with friends.
The unfortunate incident occurred on Thursday, June 14, 2023.
The deceased, Shadrach Addy, is said to have gone to the river with his friends to swim without permission from teachers.
However, while swimming at about 2:00 pm, Shadrach drowned as all efforts to rescue him failed.
The body was swept away by the river but retrieved the following morning around 10:30 am.
The body has since been deposited at Nsawam government hospital pending investigation by Police.
Drowning trends
In a related development, a report released by researchers from the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) in Accra on Friday, February 11, 2023, revealed that Ghana recorded 1449 drowning cases in the last three years.
According to the research study, the total number of drowning cases recorded include 1,142 fatal cases, 305 non-fatal cases, and two unknown cases.
Furthermore, the result of the research study also indicated a high number of males involved in both fatal and non-fatal drowning cases, which stood at 1,185 as against 231 for females.
It adds that drowning frequently occurred among males, children, and young adults.
The research was conducted in partnership with the Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Foundation with funding from the Bloomberg Philanthropies in 52 coastal, inland water, and dry districts.