Nine people, among them children, have lost their lives after a boat capsized on the Volta Lake at Yeji in the Pru East District.
The tragedy unfolded early Thursday morning, April 9, 2026, when a vessel carrying 14 passengers was caught in a violent storm while en route to Kongo in the Savannah Region. The storm caused the boat to overturn, throwing all occupants into the water.
Rescue teams managed to save five passengers, while the bodies of the remaining nine have since been recovered following extensive search operations.
In a devastating twist, preliminary reports indicate that 11 of the 14 passengers belonged to the same family, compounding the grief for relatives and the wider community.
Initial investigations point to multiple safety lapses: the boat may have been overloaded, none of the passengers was wearing life jackets, and the group reportedly boarded at an unauthorised landing site, raising serious concerns about regulatory compliance on inland waterways.
Authorities have yet to release a full official account of the incident, but the disaster has renewed urgent calls for stricter enforcement of safety regulations on the Volta Lake.
This latest accident adds to a grim history of boat capsizes on the lake, where weak oversight, overloading, and a lack of essential safety equipment have repeatedly been cited as contributing factors.
Residents and stakeholders have long urged authorities to intensify monitoring of boat operators and ensure strict adherence to safety protocols, especially during adverse weather conditions.
Investigations into the exact circumstances of the incident are ongoing.
