Accra, Oct 12, GNA – The Ghana Maritime Authority (GMA) has confirmed a fatal boat disaster that occurred on the Volta Lake near Kete Krachi on Saturday, October 11, 2025, resulting the loss of 15 lives.
Four adults survived the accident.
The incident occurred at approximately 1330 hours when a small boat carrying passengers—reportedly returning from a funeral at Okuma to Bovime, both in the Krachi West District of the Oti Region, capsized, the GMA said in a press statement issued on Sunday, October 12, 2025.
“Preliminary reports indicate that the boat was grossly overloaded beyond its safe operational capacity”, it said.
The statement noted that 11 of the deceased were children between the ages of two and 14 years— comprising five males and six females.
The remaining four victims were adults—three women and one man—aged between 18 to 64 years.
The statement said, the bodies of 12 of the deceased had been deposited at the Kete Krachi and Worawora Government Hospital Mortuaries, while the remaining three children had since been laid to rest.
The GMA said it viewed the incident as a critical and unacceptable breach of safety standards and assured it was committed to a full transparent and decisive corrective action.
In line with that, the GMA said, it had deployed a specialised investigative team, comprising maritime safety inspectors and personnel from the Navy Task Force in Dambai to the scene, with a mandate “to establish the precise cause of the accident, identify any violations of safety regulations, and ensure that all responsible parties are held fully accountable under the law.”
More soon.
GNA