7 Drown In Lake Volta

Seven people have drowned in Lake Volta after a fishing boat on which they were travelling hit a tree stump and capsized near Davagulo in Ghana's Northern region, about 650-km north of the capital Accra.

Ghana News Agency reported Thursday that the accident occurred Sunday. It quoted a police source as saying that the deceased, four men and three women, were among 48 passengers on the overloaded boat.

The dead were yet to be identified, but the boat owner, whose name was not disclosed, is helping the police in the investigation.

Meanwhile, residents of the Lake area have been warned against travelling in overcrowded boats to minimise the risk of such accidents.

District chief executive, Jerry Dramani Jackson, said officials of the fisheries Department and the Ghana Navy personnel would soon mount a surveillance against overloading of boats in the area.

He said all boats that are unsafe for fishing or transportation would be grounded.

Jackson also appealed to fishing communities to adhere to a directive by the district authorities not to ferry livestock on their boats.