According to a police statement, the incident occurred on April 2, 2025, during an anti-illegal mining operation at Assin Domeabra in the Central Region.

Preliminary findings suggest that Constable Dogbey accidentally slipped and fell into the Offin River while attempting to dismantle a Chanfan machine used by illegal miners.

After hours of intensive search efforts by a team of divers, the officer’s body was recovered and rushed to the St. Francis Xavier Hospital in Assin Foso, where he was pronounced dead on arrival.

His body is now being transported to the Police Hospital morgue for preservation and autopsy.

The Police Administration has expressed condolences to the grieving family and assured them of support during this difficult time.

Meanwhile, the Taskforce successfully dismantled one Chanfan machine and retrieved two pumping machines, two excavator batteries, three excavator keys, and their corresponding chassis numbers during the operation.

This staggering figure highlights a silent public health crisis that has largely gone unnoticed, despite its devastating impact on families and communities across the country.

The Head of Injury Prevention at Bloomberg Philanthropies, Kelly Larson stressed the urgent need to address drowning as a public health priority during a conversation at the Intercontinental Hotel, where Bloomberg Philanthropies, in collaboration with the World Health Organization (WHO), unveiled their first global report on drowning prevention.

Madam Larson noted that drowning is a significant global health issue, claiming over 300,000 lives each year, with 90% of these deaths occurring in low- and middle-income countries.

“In Ghana, the lack of drowning data has hampered the ability to fully comprehend the scale of the problem and implement targeted interventions,” she said.

However, she expressed optimism about the country’s efforts to reverse this trend, particularly through research partnerships and evidence-based strategies.

Bloomberg Philanthropies, in collaboration with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and Ghana’s Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), conducted ground-breaking research to better understand the circumstances surrounding drowning in the country.

The findings painted a grim picture, with drowning incidents frequently occurring in rivers, lakes, and along the coast, often involving children and young adults.

The research has provided a foundation for strategic interventions. According to Larson, Bloomberg Philanthropies is working with local and international partners to encourage government investment in drowning prevention programs.

This involves data collection to identify high-risk areas and the implementation of proven measures such as public education campaigns, swim training programs, and lifeguard deployment.

Bloomberg Philanthropies has already piloted successful drowning prevention programs in countries like Bangladesh, Vietnam, and Uganda.

Ghana is now set to benefit from these experiences. In Accra, initiatives are underway to provide basic water safety training and swim instruction on popular beaches, as well as studies to evaluate the effectiveness of lifeguards in preventing drowning deaths.

The Head of Injury Prevention at Bloomberg Philanthropies, explained the importance of these efforts, stating, “We are just getting started in Ghana, but the goal is to demonstrate how a combination of data-driven interventions and government commitment can save lives.”

The launch of the Global Status Report on Drowning Prevention is a significant milestone. It provides governments with comprehensive data and actionable recommendations to tackle drowning.

In Ghana, this report will serve as a blueprint for developing a national strategy to address the issue.

Key recommendations include establishing community-based water safety programs, improving surveillance systems to collect more accurate drowning data, and increasing public awareness about water-related risks.

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The driver, Noel Adams, had been reported missing since Saturday, May 26, when he was last seen alive.

According to his sibling, Adams had picked up two girls from Tema and was heading towards Accra.

Upon reaching the abattoir bridge, the area was heavily flooded, blurring his vision as he tried to navigate through the water.

Unfortunately, their car veered off the road and fell into the gutter.

The submerged vehicle was discovered by pedestrians who notified the Police. Upon inspection, the car was found empty, prompting further searches.

Eyewitnesses reported that, libations were poured at the scene, which led to the recovery of bodies from the water.

The body of the second passenger was discovered at Tema Community 19.

However, Adams’ body was discovered days later at a beach at Klagon.

It was suspected that he attempted to exit the vehicle as the windscreen was broken and his door was open when the car was found.

His body is believed to have been washed away by the floodwaters.

The identity of the two passengers is yet to be established.

This is after the lad went missing for a day.

Family members revealed to Adom News that, the deceased went to the river together with his 12-year-old elder brother and friends to swim on Sunday afternoon but did not return home.

The relative by name Moses Akpe said they received a distress call of a body floating in the river the next day.

His body was, however, retrieved with the help of some residents.

The deceased’s family spokesperson, Yakubu Mudasiru said the absence of bridge on the river is threatening their lives.

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The study which aimed to establish the availability of drowning data in existing national and district-level data sources was based on 52 districts.

The data was collected through individual interviews at the community household level in 52 out of 260 districts from January 2019 to December 31, 2021.

The study revealed that, the average age of individuals who died through drowning was 23 years and survivors were identified as 29 years.

In both cases, males dominated, nearly four times higher than females.

They again found adults 20 to 34 years and young children under 5 were at the highest risk.

Children between 0 to 4 years of age most frequently died in water/septic tanks, pits, and wells while children and adolescents from 5 to 14 years of age and 15 to 19 years of age often occurred in rivers.

An eight-member focus group discussion also revealed that alcohol consumption, lack of or limited use of life jackets, lack of or poor swimming abilities, and limited access to swim skill training contributed to drowning in Ghana.

Participants suggested that increasing access to and use of life jackets, improving boating regulations, and building bridges across water bodies can reduce drowning in Ghana.

The scientists in this study advise that “all stakeholders could benefit from devising a national water safety strategy and action plan where funding, advocacy, awareness, monitoring, and evaluation will be included”.

Funding for this research was provided by CDC Foundation through a grant from Bloomberg Philanthropies.

The authors of the study from KNUST include: Profs. Peter Donkor, Easmon Otupiri and Emmanuel Nakua.

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The victim, identified as Agyapong Gibson, reportedly died while playing with a bucket of water.

The grandmother of the deceased, Augustina Osei Bonsu told Adom News that, the water in the bucket was initially meant for the toddler’s bath and was supposed to be disposed off afterward.

She explained that, she had instructed the child’s mother, a 15-year-old Junior High School pupil, to empty the bucket.

However, the mother, occupied with other tasks, did not follow through with the instruction.

Tragically, moments after the grandmother left the house, the toddler, Agyapong Gibson, was playing with the water and accidentally fell into the bucket and drowned.

The Bibiani police have been informed of the incident, and the body of the deceased has been deposited at the morgue pending a thorough investigation.

The community is left in mourning over the devastating loss of the young child.

According to reports from the area, the young boy went to the riverside with some friends and decided to swim but drowned in the process.

Asante Boateng Abusuapanin, a spokesperson for the deceased family said they are devastated.

He revealed that, Akwasi Opoku had recently lost his grandparents who raised him. The Abusuapanin hoped the body will be recovered for a befitting burial.

Meanwhile, local traditionalists are demanding eggs, schnapps, and minerals to perform rituals aimed at locating the boy’s body.

Residents have expressed shock and sorrow over the incident, emphasizing the significant impact Akwasi Opoku’s death will have on their tight-knit community.

Residents discovered Suleman’s lifeless body by the river on Wednesday.

A resident who only gave his name as Abobo, speaking to Adom News, said he suspects the deceased killed himself.

He claimed Suleman, who is also a scrap dealer, had been complaining of economic hardship and believes he committed suicide out of frustration.

Abobo has therefore appealed to Ghanaians to be each other’s keeper to prevent such unfortunate incidents.

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The unfortunate incident occurred in the early hours of Sunday, leaving the community in shock and sorrow.

The victim, identified as Godsway, was part of a group of nine friends who decided to take a swim in the river.

According to one of the survivors, Pascal, the group had gathered for what was meant to be a fun outing.

However, the joyous atmosphere quickly turned somber as Godsway encountered difficulties in the water.

Pascal recounted that as Godsway struggled in the water, the remaining seven friends panicked and fled the scene, leaving Godsway behind.

The attempt to save him from the water’s grip unfortunately proved unsuccessful, leading to his tragic drowning.

It took joint effort by the police to retrieve the body.

The exact circumstances that led to the drowning are still under scrutiny, as investigations commence.

His body was found floating on the river with his eyes missing when residents visited the site to fetch water.

It is suspected that the deceased who is a well known resident of ‘Choice’ at New Weija had attempted to swim when he unfortunately drowned.

His body had remained in the water until the residents made the grim discovery in the afternoon of Tuesday, August 15.

Kwesi Barber, an eyewitness who spoke to Adom News, shared his observations on the incidents, noting that it seems to be strangers who often meet such a tragic fate in the river.

Addressing the ongoing issue, the Assembly member of the New Weija East electoral area, Grace Ntiamoah revealed, this marks the sixth time they have retrieved a body from the Densu River, specifically in the vicinity of the area known as ‘Choice’.

She, therefore called on the government for immediate intervention by dredging of the river to facilitate the unrestricted flow of water into the sea.

This action, if taken, she opined could potentially mitigate the risk associated with the river and prevent further tragic incidents.

Additionally, Madam Ntiamoah cautioned residents against swimming in the Densu River, emphasizing the importance of prioritizing safety.

Meanwhile, the Weija District Police have visited the scene to retrieve the body.

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The residents allege the spillover of a dam belonging to Blue Skies is the cause of their woes.

The two boys met their untimely death when they went to fetch water from the river for household chores on Saturday.

Aside from the deaths, farms have also been affected by the spillover of the dam. The situation has not only affected the livelihood of the farmers but has also caused environmental challenges.

Nearby boreholes, streams and rivers have been polluted, posing a health risk to residents who depend on them for their daily needs.

The dam was constructed for irrigation purposes in the area.

The affected farmers are demanding a lasting solution to the problem and called on government to intervene.

Father of the deceased boys, 11 and 14, Kweku Agormetor blamed the dam for the sad incident.

“A third child came to tell us what happened before we went to rescue them. But their bodies were lifeless. I am really sad. The dam they constructed caused the river to be stagnant and overflow its banks.”

Abusuapayin Oko Amoani, an opinion leader of the community, was enraged, calling on urgent government intervention.

“Spillover from the dam has affected our farms. We need government to intervene now for us.”

Meanwhile, the Akwapem South Municipality has visited the communities and given assurances.

Corporate Affairs Manager of Blue Skies Company Limited Alistair Djimatey has denied the allegations.

“It is not our irrigation dam that has caused the drowning of the children. We haven’t spilt over yet. Even at that, spill overs should go downstream and not upstream. We console with the family and are ready to help in investigation efforts.”

The deceased teenagers are set to be buried on Friday, June 23.

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The headteacher of the victim’s school, Owusu Rockson, explained that the sad incident happened when they had closed.

He narrated to Adom News that due to the heavy rains, the pupils were restrained and information was sent to the parents to pick up their wards from the school’s premises.

However, the victim and two of her siblings proceeded to walk home after the rains had subsided and accidentally slipped into a flooded gutter.

Eyewitnesses managed to rescue her from the flood waters after which she was rushed to the hospital.

She was declared dead before arrival at the Bibiani Government Hospital.

The body of the deceased was subsequently deposited in the hospital’s morgue with parent’s approval while police investigations begin.

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The incident occurred at Oparekrom in the Nsawam Adoagyiri municipality in the Eastern region Thursday, June 14, 2023, but the body was retrieved on Friday.

According to witnesses, on the fateful day, the deceased, a pupil of Tieku Basic School and his friends went to river Densu to swim without asking for permission from teachers.

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 next morning around 10:30 am.

The body has been deposited at the Nsawam Government Hospital pending investigation by the Police.

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Kofi Asare and his sister, Esther Dede, were reportedly playing football yesterday evening around the pool area which is a few meters from their residence.

According to the deceased’s mother, Grace Asare, she was informed the ball fell into the pool which was formerly used by a collapsed Saw Mills company.

Dede, who jumped into the water in attempts to retrieve the ball, began screaming for help, causing her brother, Kofi to jump in to save her.

They both drowned in the presence of other children they were playing football with.

One of the children rushed home to inform the mother of the deceased who together with other residents rushed to the pool area to find both children floating.

The police were immediately notified and together with the Akyem Oda Fire service personnel, the bodies were retrieved.

Investigations have commenced.

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Yaw Owusu was reportedly heading for his farming work when he was tasked by a neighbour to rescue her drowning goat.

He was assured a sum of GHS 70 which he agreed on before entering into the community’s well.

Unaware of the depth of the well, he is said to have dived in, and in two minutes, there was no sight of him.

His body was recovered from the well by the Ghana Fire Service and handed over to policemen from the district’s station after residents notified them of the development.

It was gathered that the goat was also recovered dead.

A fire person, who spoke to media men, revealed that the victim possibly smashed his head in the well based on the degree of injuries visible on his head during the rescue.

He added that it took three personnel to descend into the well with a ladder to trace his body.

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The deceased, all teenagers, were among eight others who had gone to the river to wash mango fruits and also have a swim.

Unfortunately, they got drowned in the process around 3pm. 

Victims

One of the teenagers, identified as Wisdom Akolikiba, whose body was retrieved from the river around 7:p.m. on that fateful day by rescuers, has since been buried.

The body of the only girl among them, identified as Jessica Akolikiba, a sister of Wisdom, was found yesterday by the search party with no sign of decomposition.

Unfortunately, the body of the third person, identified as Nathaniel Baba, was yet to be retrieved by the search team as of press time yesterday.

How it happened

Information gathered by the Daily Graphic indicated that eight teenagers, between the ages of 11 and 17, went to pluck mango fruits from a big mango tree close to the river in the community since they were not allowed to pluck mangoes belonging to neighbours in the area.

After successfully plucking the mangoes, they decided to go into the river to wash the fruits since they were dirty and, in the process, they all jumped into the river to swim as well.

Unfortunately, they got carried away while swimming and swam towards the deep part of the river and the three got downed.

However, five of them managed to swim back to the riverside but the three others were carried away by the river.

The five teenagers who survived quickly rushed to the community to inform the elders and the youth about the incident who quickly mobilised and performed the required rituals to enable rescuers to enter the river to rescue them.

After four hours of search, the search party was able to retrieve the lifeless body of one of them around 7p.m. which was immediately handed over to his family to perform the needed rites before his burial.

The team went back the following day to continue but was unsuccessful after searching a whole day

Community

The tragic incident has thrown the entire community into a state of grief and mourning as family members, friends and sympathisers of the deceased teenagers thronged their residences to commiserate with the bereaved families.

Many of them who could not hold back their emotions wept uncontrollably as they could not fathom why the teenagers died in  such a sorrowful and tragic manner.

The Assembly member for the Chaaba Electoral Area, David Anafo, in an interview, said another ritual had been performed as directed by the traditional priest and expressed the hope that the bodies of the two other teenagers would be found.

He noted that the sad incident shocked the community members as some abandoned their economic and social activities to join the search team at the riverside to search for the missing bodies.

Meanwhile, the Member of Parliament  for Navrongo Central, Sampson Tangombu Chiragia, last Sunday paid a visit to the town to commiserate with the bereaved families due to the unfortunate death of their children.

He encouraged the search party to go the extra mile to find the missing bodies to be given a befitting burial.

The incident occurred on Friday at Kasoa Asempa Down in the Awutu Senya East Municipality of the Central region.

According to reports, the nine-month-old pregnant woman collapsed after Police officers and NADMO officials retrieved the lifeless body of her son identified as Lawoe Sejafa.

Narrating the incident, the Asempa Down Zonal NADMO Coordinator, Christopher Appiah said the toddler was playing on the compound when the unfortunate incident happened.

Mr Appiah said a tenant who is a pastor constructed the manhole but left it uncovered.

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Auntie of the deceased, Happy Sejafa who spoke to Adom News said her sister is responding to treatment at Kasoa Polyclinic.

Meanwhile, the body of the deceased has been deposited at St Gregory Hospital morgue for autopsy.

Reports indicate that, the deceased who was playing in the heavy rain accidentally fell into a gutter full of water on Saturday, May 8, 2023 afternoon which swept him away.

It took several hours before he was retrieved from the river after libation was poured.

Family members thought the deceased had gone to his mother’s house until they heard he had been washed away by the running water.

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The body has been deposited at the mortuary for autopsy and preservation.

Meanwhile, police have commenced investigation into the matter.

According to reports, the boat was conveying the mourners from Kpajoti, a village in the Krachi Nchumuru District, to Sabaja in the Krachi West Municipality on the river.

In an interview with one of the survivors, it was revealed that the boat was carrying 15 persons before the incident happened at about 12:00 pm.

The eight people died instantly whilst seven others survived though one has been admitted to the hospital.

Another survivor onboard told Adom News the boat was patched in several areas, allowing splashes of water to sail through.

The eight deceased persons were two children below age of five and six adults.

The assembly man for the area, Francis Yaw Bio, confirmed the incident and blamed residents for allowing an inexperienced teenager to use the canoe and even without life jackets.

He said the victims have been buried after the matter was reported to the police and autopsy examination by medical officer from Krachi West Municipal Hospital.

According to accounts, Goka Selorm (the deceased) went to the said resort with his friend to ‘while away time’ at about 5 pm on Thursday when the unfortunate incident occurred.

According to sources, they were cautioned by the security at the resort not to swim in the river.

A few moments later, the security man who was running errands received a distress call from the bar attendant about the drowning.

Reports indicate that the place the incident occurred was deep, a situation that might account for the sudden death.

“By the time people realised that he was in danger, it was too late,” an eyewitness told Citi News.

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Goka Selorm is the second of two children for his parents.

The body has been deposited at the Adidome District Hospital morgue.

Thirty-three members of the white garment church from Alexandra went for baptism in the Jukskei River in Morningside, Johannesburg, when a flash flood occurred, resulting in the tragedy.

Eyewitnesses told the media that the congregants were standing on rocks in the river when a deluge of water poured. The church leader reportedly escaped death by a whisker when he held on to an overhanging tree branch while being swept away.

The police, fire service and specialist aquatic rescue teams, will continue searching today for three people who are still missing.

Spokesperson of the City of Johannesburg Emergency Medical Services Robert Mulaudzi told eNCA that the teams first recovered two drowned bodies on Saturday before 12 others were retrieved on Sunday from the Jukskei River, bringing the count to 14.

“Our residents, especially congregants who normally practice these kinds of rituals, will be tempted to go to these river streams. Our message for them is to exercise caution as and when they conduct these rituals,” Mulaudzi said.

Victor Ncube, a member of the Johane Masowe church, told the media that he rescued five people from the river who had been swept 100 metres downstream.

This is not the first time members of an apostolic sect have drowned during their church rituals.

In 2021, eight prophets from Vadzidzi VaJeso apostolic sect in Zimbabwe drowned while competing to retrieve a “holy stick” in Mazowe River. Ten prophets were involved in the ritual competition to select a baptist when they drowned.

One of the church leaders threw a church stick into the deep Hungumwe River and said whoever retrieved it first would qualify to baptise congregants.

The child’s parents reportedly left him in the care of his siblings when the tragedy occurred on Saturday.

The siblings were busy playing when the child made his way to buckets of water arranged outside and fell into one.

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He was found too late.

The incident, according to reports, occurred on Thursday afternoon.

It is unclear how he ended up in the river.

But the Assemblyman for the area, Ecas, who confirmed the incident on Adom FM’s Naket Kasiebo said the victim, according to witnesses, appeared drunk.

He explained all attempts to find the body proved futile despite a libation poured by traditional authorities to pave way for the search.

“We couldn’t find the body but had to stop the search because nobody is allowed at the river by 6:00 pm,” he said.

He said that wasn’t the first time someone had drowned in the river, stating it has taken three to four days for a body to be found after a similar incident some time ago.

He has, however, expressed confidence the body will be found for the identity of the person to be established when the search continues on Friday.

Information gathered indicates that the mason met his untimely death when he and four other friends went to the area to work.

He was washing down after the day’s work when he slipped and fell into the pit, leading to his death.

In an interview with Adom News, the Awutu Senya East Municipal National Disaster Management Organisation Director, Kwame Amoah, revealed that this is the fourth time innocent people have died in the pit.

Mr Amoah alleged that the abandoned pit belongs to Atiwa Quarry.

He, therefore, called on the relevant authorities to, as a matter of urgency, cover the pit to avoid another occurrence.

Massiah Browne was swimming at an apartment complex in Sacramento last Tuesday. That’s when he noticed a young child at the bottom of the pool’s deep end.

The quick-thinking boy jumped into action.

“We saw a boy at the bottom of the pool, and I went to go check on him,” Massiah said.

“He was just, like, upside down, face down, floating on top of the pool,” one woman said.

Massiah grabbed the three-year-old by the hand and pulled him up to the surface. The Sacramento Fire Department responded to the scene and performed CPR.

The three-year-old was breathing normally when they transported him to the hospital.

The man who is yet to be identified was said to have been found dead at the stream.

The Assembly Member for the area, Charles Enchill who confirmed the incident said he received a call and rushed to the scene to find his lifeless body.

Mr Enchill reported that Tech Police Station personnel have since conveyed the body to the Komfo Anokye Teaching hospital morgue.

The police have since commenced investigations into the incident.

The victims have been identified as 17-year-old Olivia Tetteh, a student of the St John’s Senior High School and 18-year-old Christabel Agyekum of Saltpond Senior High School.

Information gathered indicated that the two visited the resort to have a pool session, but they were restricted by the lifeguard who went in search of a jacket for them.

However, upon return in less than five minutes, the guard is reported to have met the two teenagers at the bottom of the pool.

The two were fully clothed, and had reportedly drowned in the seven-feet portion of the pool.

The families of the victims have disputed the situational report presented by the lifeguard and management of the hotel, in an interview on Adom News.

Father of one of the victims, who happens to be an Immigration Officer, cannot fathom how the two teenagers would drown in five minutes after supposedly entering the pool.

He believes the entire story is a cover up of what actually transpired in the morning of Monday, June 13.

Jospehine Amoah, mother of Christabel Agyekum, has called on authorities to investigate the incident and bring justice to the families.

The incident occurred on Saturday afternoon.

However, the name of the deceased is yet to be revealed.

Reports indicate the pool is about 21 feet deep.

Reports by campus-based Radio Univers suggest that the victim, even after he was told to depart from that side of the pool, refused to listen and attempted to swim there which cost him his life.

“Usually, the swim instructors, If they don’t see you swimming there always, they know that you are not really good at swimming per how you kick and all and they ask you to go back.

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“So the guy went to the 21ft and was asked to go back the first time….not knowing he went there again and the next thing they heard was that he had drowned,” witnesses narrated.

Residents say his death brings to four children who have drowned in the over 100 pits abandoned in the area in the past three years.

The deceased, Emmanuel Aboagye, died trying to save his nine-year-old brother, Yaw.

His father saved him early enough but lost the other brother.

The father together with the survivor told JoyNews what transpired at the site.

“My brother, Aboagye, and I came here to fetch water. I tripped and fell into the water, he jumped in to save me but I learned he drowned,” said the nine-year-old boy, Yaw who was saved.

“He was not moving when I brought him out of the water. After rescuing him, I was told his senior brother, Aboagye was also in the water but I couldn’t save him because I am not a good swimmer.

“He was so weak when he was finally retrieved but I did not have any hope he was alive though those around were saying he was still alive,” the father told JoyNews.

It took a number of local divers hours to find the boy who died later on his way to the hospital.

A member of the rescue team, Shadrach Ofori, said the people expected more from the police at Patriensa.

“I am very unhappy because when the incident happened, my brother-in-law went to the Patriensa police station so we were expecting one of the policemen to come to the site where the incident happened but none showed up,” he said.

But police at Patriensa say the people reported missing children but they told them to conduct a search for them and report to police later.

Over a hundred deep abandoned illegal mining pits, covered with weeds and water, fill the Patriensa low-lying areas.

A number of children have fallen victim to them making the indigenes of the Patriensa worried.

Some residents, who interacted with JoyNews, called on the leader of the community and government to come to their aid by helping to cover up the ‘galamsey’ pits in the Region.

“If government would help us, we would be happy because the pits are killing children. These pits are everywhere, all around,” one resident said.

The student, identified as ThankGod Emumirigwe, allegedly drowned in a borrow pit on the school premises.

The student, from the Mechanical Department of the technical school, had died while bathing in the borrow pit after a grass cutting exercise last Friday, October 15.

According to sources: “The students of the school were doing labour and when they finished working at about 11:am, some of them went to the borrow pit to freshen up.

“As they were bathing, it was discovered that the boy was drowning and some of the students who were with him brought him out and then alerted the school authority.

“The source alleged that the deceased died on his way to the hospital and was officially confirmed by the hospital management.”

A source alleged that the principal was approached and begged to rush the boy to the hospital but he asked them to call the labour master.

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“The labour master was not around at the time of the incident and the principal resorted to videoing the students, probably thinking that they were pretending,” the source added.

Those present had to go out in search of a tricycle, popularly called keke, to rush the student to a nearby hospital where he was confirmed dead.

The incident sparked a protest by students of the school who vandalised the building where the principal’s office is in the school.

The principal was arrested following the student’s death.

The pupils have been identified as 13-year-olf David Opoku and 14-year-old Thomas Opoku.

It is unclear their reason for visiting the dam.

Okyeame of Ahafo Tutuka, Nana Yaw Ofori giving details of the development on Adom News said the council arranged for divers and swimmers to rush to the rescue of the children after they were notified of the drowning.

He added that when they got to the scene, there was no sign of the two boys and the efforts of the five divers were seeming futile.

It took incantation and libation for the divers to reach the middle course, where one of the boys was discovered.

The second was also found shortly after.

However, both were already dead before help arrived and with police assistance, they have been conveyed to the Saint Elizabeth Hospital morgue.

Two of the five rescuers, also David and Thomas, told Adom News the exercise was a difficult one since the dam was very deep and cold.

This has brought the total death toll as a result of drowning in the Newmont dam to 5, per a report by the Unit Committee member, Madam Angelina.

She made a passionate appeal to the government to seize access to the dam in a bid to prevent further damages.

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Elizabeth Kambatuu, a class 4 pupil of Sawla St Augustine’s R/C Primary School, is said to be the only person who drowned after a boat carrying over seven persons capsized.

Residents were able to save all passengers on board, but she could not be traced as at that time.

She is said to have left home to take advantage of the Gbeniyiri market day, though her permission from her mother was declined.

The mother of the victim, Juliana Kambatuu, told Adom News’ Rebecca Natomah that she felt uneasy when she returned home to meet the absence of both the girl and her sister, as it was heavily raining.

She added that she put a call through to inform them not to head home until the rains were over and the flood had subsided.

Despite several warnings from witnesses including a motor rider Madam Kambatuu sent to trace her, she is said to have joined the boat.

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Upon getting to the middle of the journey under a bridge, the boat is said to have capsized and a rescue team did its possible best to save the victims.

She was, however, missing but her body was discovered hours later, in the morning of September 15.

Madam Kambatuu added that she was immediately buried, and the final funeral rites would be performed in the Upper West Region.

Meanwhile, the Assemblyman for Gbeniyiri-Dagbebu electoral area, Clement B. Nakoh, has appealed to the District Chief Executive and Member of Parliament for Sawla, Andrew Chewintey, to help reconstruct the bridge and the Sawla Gbeniyiri-Dagbebu roads.

The man whose identity is not immediately known nearly drowned while crossing over a flooded area.

In some videos shared online, it is unclear how the man got stuck in the middle of the flood, but he could be seen trying to find a safe spot to stand.

In doing so, despite screams from onlookers, the man slipped into a hollow spot which made him struggle to stay still.

The pressure from the flood carried him along a sloppy area, while some female residents shouted for help.

It took the efforts of two brave men to drag him out of the water and direct him to safety.

Ghanaians have commended the gentlemen who but for their intervention, would have led to the disappearance of the drowning man.

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Residents, speaking to Adom News, said the body was discovered yesternight, but the environment made it impossible to retrieve the body.

He was found lying in a supine position inside the dam for irrigation of rice and vegetables.

The Assemblymember and police were notified for retrieval of the body. The state of the body indicated he had been lying unnoticed in the dam for a while.

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Meanwhile, as the news spread in the community, some individuals alerted the assemblyman of their missing relations, for which they were permitted to view the body.

A family confirmed the deceased is their relation and gave his name as Isaac Adjei.

The family has, since, prepared for a quick burial, following the state of the corpse.

The bodies of the deceased persons – Ernest Antwi, a 40-year-old mobile money distributor, and a yet-to-be-identified 14-year-old boy have been retrieved and deposited at the morgue.

A witness to the incident said Ernest Antwi went to the stream to wash his car when he spotted the alleged mentally challenged 14-year-old struggling to stay afloat in the stream.

In a bid to save the boy, both of them drowned in the 8-feet deep stream.

Their bodies were retrieved at about 10:00 pm on that fateful day by the community members and deposited at Atibie government Hospital.

Assembly Member for the area, Osei Bonsu stated that four residents have drowned in the stream since the year 2015.