Boat accident kills eight in River Oti
A boat accident on River Oti last Sunday claimed the lives of eight persons at Dambai in the Krachi East District of the Volta Region.
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The deceased, who were mainly women and children, were returning home after harvesting yam on their farm at Wulubu.
The boat is said to have hit a tree stump eight minutes after leaving Dambai and got damaged,forcing water into it and in their attempt to escape the impending danger the eight drowned.
The bodies of three of the deceased have been retrieved by a search party which have been identified and deposited at the Worawora Government Hospital pending autopsy.
They are: Madam Adjoa Akura, 27; Bertha Monto, 12 and Phillis Monto, eight. Five others including Miss Phidalia Anane, 18, and Miss Forgive Tuffour, eight, are still missing.
According to a police source at Dambai, the boat was carrying 19 people, all members of a family who had gone to assist a couple to harvest their yams.
At about 7:30 p.m, barely eight minutes away from Dambai, the boat hit a tree stump, resulting in the boat, which was also carrying the harvested tubers of yam, being filled with water.
The source said 11 others survived the disaster and added that frantic efforts were being made to find the missing five persons.
The boat and the outboard motor have also been retrieved from the river.
By Emmanuel Modey/Daily Graphic/Ghana