9-year-old boy drowns at Saltpond

A nine-year-old boy has died during crab hunting at Saltpond in the Mfantseman Municipality of the Central Region.

The incident happened on Tuesday, April 2, 2024.

Information gathered indicates that Paa Kwesi and his three friends, all under 13, went to a marshy area on Tuesday morning to search for crabs.

While hunting for crab, they decided to swim in a river when they felt that the weather was too hot.

However, Paa Kwesi never returned to the surface after jumping into the river.

After swimming for a while, the other three didn’t see Paa Kwesi; hence, they assumed he might have gone home, so they went back to hunt.

When they returned, they sent his slippers home, only to realize that he was not home. They didn’t inform anyone about what had happened.

The mother of the deceased went to the police station, lodged a complaint, and proceeded to local radio stations and information centres to make announcements, but all proved futile.

They later had information that someone had drowned and had been found on a river bank at Mankessim Hinni. So they quickly rushed to the area, only to witness the lifeless body of the young boy on Wednesday, April 3, 2024, in the afternoon.

The body of the deceased has been deposited at the Mankessim Roman Catholic Hospital Mortuary.

Police have arrested the three survivors for interrogation as the investigation begins.

Drowning has become prevalent in recent times.

Below are some recent drowning incidents.

On March 26, 2024, it was reported that two people had drowned in a dam at Tubong in the Tempane District in the Upper East Region.

Information gathered indicated that an 11-year-old boy drowned in the dam around 2 p.m.

Upon hearing the news, the boy’s father, who was conversing with his 30-year-old friend, identified as Pakinyedu, rushed to the scene.

Upon reaching the bank of the dam, Pakinyedu, who did not know how to swim, out of desperation and anxiety, jumped into the dam to rescue the boy, but he also drowned in the process.

Also, on March 20, 2024, it was reported that an 11-year-old pupil, Richard Kweku Okyere, died after drowning in a stream at Gomoa Potsin in the Gomoa East District of the Central Region.

Information gathered indicates that Richard went missing for a couple of hours, and efforts to locate him were unsuccessful.

Later, his friends reported that he had drowned in the stream while they were swimming.

Again, on Saturday, March 9, 2024, a 15-year-old junior high school (JHS 3) student of the Blessing Academy at Afasebong, in the Atwima Kwanwoma district, drowned in the Dwahyen River at Takyiman New Site.