A man lost his mother, three wives and five children in a boat disaster on the Volta Lake.

The man, believed to be in his late 50s, is said to be a herdsman who was relocating his family to a different community.

Various sources said he travelled on a pontoon, while his mother, three wives and five children travelled on the small canoe.

Five of the passengers have since been rescued, but two others remain missing.

The nine were among 16 passengers, all without life vests, onboard the small canoe on the Volta Lake near Mataiko in the East Gonja District in the Savannah Region.

The passengers were travelling from Yeji to a local community,  Congo, when the small wooden vessel capsized last Wednesday in stormy weather.

The Salaga District Police Commander, Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Gabriel Kofi Alorsey, who confirmed the incident, said out of the 16 passengers on board, five males were rescued, while a search party was still ongoing to locate the remaining.

He further stated that search teams were still looking for the remaining missing persons as of yesterday morning.

Burial

The Savannah Regional Crime Officer, Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) Richard Osei, also indicated that the nine bodies were buried in accordance with Islamic tradition before the arrival of the police.

ASP Osei confirmed that the victims were travelling from a community known as Congo when the canoe encountered a storm on the Volta Lake. 

Avoiding loading areas

Meanwhile, the Ghana Maritime Authority (GMA) has expressed grave concern over the incident, noting that none of the passengers was wearing a life jacket, contrary to maritime safety regulations.

The GMA strongly believes that the operator of the boat involved in the latest Volta Lake disaster evaded designated departure points, thereby bypassing mandatory safety checks and supervision.

This is because the authority has established official departure stations staffed by officers from the GMA and the Ghana Navy, where life jackets are provided, and passengers are required to wear them before any vessel is allowed to leave.

The Director-General of GMA, Dr Kamal-Deen Ali (Naval Captain retd), told the Daily Graphic that preliminary findings into the latest accident suggest that the canoe did not depart from one of those approved locations.

“As a result, the vessel escaped safety inspections and supervision,” Dr Ali said.

The retired Naval Captain added that although many passengers complied with safety rules at the beginning of a journey, some removed their life jackets once the journey was underway.

The GMA said the lack of life jackets significantly contributed to the loss of lives.

It reiterated that the use of life jackets was mandatory for all water transport and urged both operators and passengers to strictly comply with safety protocols to prevent similar tragedies.

Dr Ali said the authority’s current safety regime was anchored on a Code of Operation, which required boat operators to ensure that all passengers wore life jackets and that vessels did not exceed their approved load capacity.

The Director-General explained that in areas such as Yeji, where GMA officers and Navy personnel were stationed, the rules were rigorously enforced, including the removal of excess passengers from overloaded boats.

He explained, however, that many private operators deliberately avoided the official stations in order to escape monitoring and regulation.

"While there are currently no direct legal sanctions against passengers who refuse to wear life jackets, boat operators are required to sign a formal undertaking committing them to comply with all maritime safety rules," Dr Ali stated.

The Director-General of GMA said the authority was now reviewing the legal framework to introduce tougher measures against operators and boat owners who ignored safety protocols or bypassed designated departure points.

Dr Ali said under the proposed reforms, operators who breached the undertaking would face immediate legal consequences.

The authority was also considering the introduction of remote monitoring technology to close what it described as “blind spots” on the lake.

The measures, Dr Ali said, would include the use of Automatic Identification System tracking for larger wooden vessels, as well as drones and GPS-enabled surveillance to monitor illegal routes and detect non-compliant operators.

He said the technology would not only help identify repeat offenders but also improve response times during search and rescue operations.

As part of efforts to strengthen enforcement on the lake, Dr Ali said the GMA had planned to introduce a specialised Water Safety Guards unit to patrol major transport routes and conduct random checks on life jacket use and vessel stability.

"In addition, the authority is preparing to roll out a programme to make life jackets more accessible and affordable.

"Under the plan, passengers would be able to rent life jackets for a small fee at designated departure points, while regular commuters and boat operators would also have access to subsidised, standardised jackets for purchase," he said.