Burial service for the 13 victims who drowned at Apam Beach last Sunday has been slated for Tuesday, March 16 at St. Luke Catholic Hospital at Apam.

The service is to be followed by the mass burial of the victims.

This was announced in a statement issued at Apam and signed by Bismark Baisie Nkum, Gomoa West Acting District Chief Executive.

The statement said relevant stakeholders, including Chiefs and Elders of Apam, the Chief fisherman and his team of managers at the landing beach, elders of the bereaved families and St. Luke Catholic Hospital, agreed on the date after an engagement.

It, however, said the venue for the burial service would be restricted to some bereaved families to avoid overcrowding and to ensure adherence to COVID-19 protocols.

The statement clarified that 13 bodies aged between 13 and 17, including two females, were retrieved from along the coast of Gomoa Abrekum, Gomoa Mankoadze and Apam.

“Two of the victims are residents of Gomoa Ankamu (Apam Junction) and 11 are residents of Apam,” it explained.

It added that two of them rescued on the same day of the incident were sent to the St. Luke Catholic Hospital for treatment and subsequently discharged the following day.

The statement said the incident took place at a landing beach patronized on daily basis by fisher folks and not a beach resort as was being speculated by the media.

The statement indicated that the District Security Council (DISEC) was working to ensure a greater partnership with chief fishermen and the team of managers of the six coastal communities within the District.

A local task force will eventually be formed at the various Landing beaches to provide security on daily basis as part of measures to forestall future occurrences, it stated.

It added that DISEC would intensify the already existing sensitization programme along the coast.

The statement commended the united effort of the people of Apam and called for calm as the security agencies conducted their investigation to unravel the circumstances surrounding the incident.

In a related development, President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has supported the chiefs and elders of Apam and the families of the children who drowned with an amount of ¢36,000.

The donation was done on behalf of the President by the Minister of Fisheries and Aquaculture, Mavis Hawa Koomson (MP), and the Central Regional Minister, Justina Marigold Assan.