A two-year-old boy has died after he got drowned in a Veronica Bucket over the weekend.
The unfortunate incident, which occurred around 7:30am at Boadi near Kumasi, has left the family of the toddler in grief.
The little boy was said to be playing in the yard in their house while his nursing mother was busily preparing his breakfast in the kitchen.
The ‘Veronica bucket’ is a plastic receptacle usually attached with a tap used to store water. It became popular following the outbreak of the Covid-19 in Ghana and can be found in almost every household in the country.
Family members told the police that his mother, who is a nurse, came out and found the head of her son in the bucket half filled with rain water with his legs pointed upwards.
“He was rescued and rushed to Anninwaa Hospital at Emena for treatment but was pronounced dead on arrival by the medical officer on duty,” a police source said.
The source said the body was inspected but there was no mark of violence “except that water was coming out of his nostrils.”
The body of the deceased had been deposited at the Anninwaa Hospital’s morgue for preservation awaiting autopsy at the time of filing this report.
While the police at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology District say they are investigating the case, they have described the incident as “unnatural death.”
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Incidents of such nature have been occuring in recent times in the Ashanti region raising concerns about the safety of children while they are with their parents.
On April 29, 2020, a one-and-half-year-old boy got drowned in a well while playing with his siblings at Atasamanso, a suburb of Kumasi in the Ashanti region.
The incident occurred when the victim accidentally slipped and fell into the partially covered well when he attempted to mount on it.
The mother of the victim, Serwaa Abrafi, named his son as Nana Yaw and told the police that her child was rescued at about half-an-hour and rushed to the Atasamanso Hospital, but was confirmed dead on arrival by medics.