The chances of finding any of the eight persons who are feared to have drowned in the reservoir of the Bui Hydro Dam in the Brong Ahafo region, have slimmed after a search and rescue team returned Saturday, without any hope.

The eight were said to be among 33 persons onboard a boat that capsized in the reservoir early Friday, near an upstream village called Accra Town, after it developed a fault with its outboard motor.

A search and rescue mission carried upon by the Ghana Navy led to 25 of the passengers being saved, with the remaining eight feared to have drowned.

Public Relations Manager at the Bui Power Authority (BPA), Chery Lawson-Adamu in an interview with Myjoyonline.com said the Navy returned late Saturday afternoon with no traces of the missing persons except the wrecked boat with dead mammmals in it.

“The Navy went there this morning and searched the whole day but they saw nothing except wrecked boat with dead animals in it,” the PR Manager reported.

Although Cherie said the Navy will be dispatched to the scene of the accident again on Sunday for their usual patrol, it is very unlikely they will find any of the eight persons alive as no human being can survive beyond 30 minutes underwater.

The Bui Dam is a 400-megawatt (540,000 hp) hydroelectric project in Ghana. It is built on the Black Volta river at the Bui Gorge, at the southern end of Bui National Park.