A 12-year-old boy has drowned in the Volta Lake at Jaklai, a suburb of Yeji in the Pru East District of the Bono East Region.
The deceased reportedly went to the lakeside with two other boys on Sunday, May 21, 2023, to fetch water when the accident occurred.
After fetching the water, the boys went ahead to play in a canoe onshore and were chased away by some residents.
The three boys jumped into the lake in an attempt to escape but started struggling to stay afloat.
Some bystanders managed to rescue two of the victims. The third, who had swam further, however, passed on before help arrived.
The assemblyman for Yeji Traditional Council Electoral area, Godwin Awudi, speaking in an interview with journalists expressed concern about the rampant rate of drowning in the past weeks.
He added that they have started a process to put measures in place to prevent children from swimming in the lake.
This comes three weeks after three people reportedly died in the Volta Lake in the same town.
According to reports, the incident which occurred before the latest, had ill-fated persons who missed a ferry taking to a small boat that capsized midstream They were from Makango in the Savanna Region and their destination was Yeji. Their boat capsized during a storm on the river leading to their demise.
Information gathered revealed a search team was dispatched to look for the bodies.
Meanwhile, the boat operator, Jacob Adinortey, who survived, was arrested to assist the police with investigations.
