2 dead bodies retrieved from River Offin, 2 more missing in a canoe accident

• Four of the victims were rescued immediately

• The dead bodies of two other victims were retrieved from the River Offin on Sunday

Two persons remain unaccounted for following an incident on the Offin River on Friday, October 9, 2021, in which a boat reportedly carrying about nine persons capsized.

According to a Daily Graphic report sighted by GhanaWeb, the incident happened around 7:30 am on Friday when the canoe capsized midway through a journey embarked on by a group of farmers.

Four of the victims were rescued in time while the remaining were declared missing.

Two more bodies have since been retrieved on Sunday according to a police report.

“The lifeless bodies of two of the victims of the drowning incident; namely Isaac Kattey, aged 25, and ‘Holy’, aged 23, were retrieved from the Offin River at New Achiase,” portions of the report state.

According to the police report, the bodies which were found and retrieved in a bloated and totally decomposed condition have since been buried, owing to the state of decomposition.

Reports surrounding the incident appear conflicting as police put the number of drowned victims at four while persons within the community say the number is five.

Again, members of the community say the individuals involved in the incident were farmers. But according to the acting District Director of the National Disaster Management Organisation for Atwima Mponua, Mr Joseph Oppong, information gathered by his team indicate that the victims were illegal miners who were using the canoe to cross the river to undertake their trade.

Meanwhile, a search is still ongoing for the remaining missing persons.

It is not yet known what may have caused the canoe to capsize.