9 children dead as boat capsizes at Faana-Bortianor

Nine school children out of twelve onboard a canoe have died after it capsized on the Weija River.

The accident is reported to have happened on Wednesday, May 10 at about 5:24 pm.

The passengers were returning from school across the river to the Faana-Bortianor in the Ga South Municipality, in the Oboom Domeabra constituency.

According to a 13-year-old student survivor of the boat accident, at about 5 pm, twelve of them were at the bank of the river waiting for a boat to convey them to the Faana community but boats were not forthcoming, subsequently, they saw a boat being operated by a young man and beckoned unto him to transport them to the Faana community.

But after they were onboard, they realized they were more than the boat could carry and they told the boat operator to drop some of them off and come back for them but he didn’t heed them.

Consequently, in the middle of their journey, the boat capsized and casting all of them into the river including a one year, six-month-old toddler.

Three out of the twelve survived whilst one went missing after eight bodies of the children were recovered from the river.

It is reported that the missing body has also been found today, Thursday, May 11.

According to the Assemblyman of the area, the leaders in the community seek the state’s compensation for the tragedy.

Meanwhile, it was reported on the 20th of March that eight pupils drowned while crossing Volta Lake.

Eight out of 20 school children drowned while traveling to school in the nearby community of Wayokope on Tuesday, January 24, 2023.

While addressing the incident, the District Chief Executive (DCE), G.J. Kofi Gyimah, assured that the community will get a school before the end of 2023.

He said that measures are being put in place by the community leaders and other stakeholders to build a learning facility for the community.

He explained that this is to ease the stress and risk students face when traveling by water to access education.