Eight persons have been reported dead after a boat carrying mourners from Kpadzoti all the way to Zabaja in the Krachi West municipality capsized on the River Oti.

Eight people died instantly while three survived.

Meanwhile, one of the survivors has been admitted to the hospital.

The Assemblyman for the area, Francis Yaw Bio confirmed the incident to JoyNews.

“I was there when I had a call that some incident happened at Kpadzoti.. so I went there and saw what happened. It was true that the canoe capsized,” he said.

He also mentioned that the boat was overloaded with 11 people.

He also blamed residents for allowing the inexperienced teenager to use a canoe and without lifejackets.

“The boy in charge of the canoe is a young boy. Therefore, it did not cross his mind to take some of the passengers and come for the others later. So he tried to take all but on his way, he tried to come back to reduce the number and the boat capsized,” he said.

This incident comes 10 days after eight people died at Azizanya. They are said to have drowned at the Ada estuary.

The incident which occurred around 9:00 am on Saturday was allegedly caused by strong winds.

Residents of Agbeve community blame the dredging activities in the area, which they say has confirmed their fears.

The residents explained that the accident was due to flow velocity due to increased water depth, leading to a recorded increase in volumes of incoming water into the estuary which makes underwater current heavier and swifter.