By Ewoenam Kpodo
Laklevikope (VR), Sept 20, GNA – Mr Atitso Amewu, aged 40, widower of a woman who drowned with three children in a pit dug in the Keta Lagoon at Laklevikope, Ketu South, said he survived only by grace.
On Saturday, Madam Yawa Apenu, 41, with her two children aged 14 and 10, and a third child aged eight, who lived with the family fell off into the pit when they went fishing.
Mr Amewu who was also on the fishing expedition with the four deceased persons solemnly recounted to the Ghana News Agency how the incident happened and said he nearly did not make it alive.
Mr Amewu said: “We had barely got on to the water when one of the kids slipped and fell into the pit. My wife, attempting to rescue the children, also fell inside. Another kid followed and then the other. All of that happened within seconds. Seeing that, I jumped into the water to rescue them but failed.
“The pit is deep, not shallow. While I was struggling, my wife and the children all came to cling to me. In the process, my shirt and trousers got ripped off. In fact, it was by grace that I survived.
“It is not easy with me here. My heart is heavy with sorrow. For now, I get help from people by way of them comforting me to take heart. It is hard for me knowing I lost my wife and the children in such a circumstance.”
Mr Mawuko Tokor, one of the men who helped to retrieve the bodies said his swimming skills from several years of fishing at Kete-Krachi, Oti Region came in handy.
He said the deep pit was really a death trap and called on authorities to help fill it to avoid a future disaster.
Madam Menyayorna Afedzi, a resident sympathising over the loss, said, “the Indian-owned salt mining company is responsible for these deaths.”
GNA