The Apam District Police Commander has given a chilling account of how 20 teenagers drowned at the beach there on Sunday.

Deputy Superintendent of Police, Moses Osakonor told Joy News the sad incident happened at about 5 pm.

According to him, the determined teens stole to have fun swimming in total disregard to the President's ban on activities at the nation's beaches as a way to curb the spread of Covid-19.

According to a police report, while the children were swimming, a heavy tide rose and they could not control themselves so they were taken away by the sea.

The timely intervention of a Good Samaritan saved the lives of two of them as they were rescued and sent to the St. Luke Hospital to be attended to.

The search party immediately jumped into the sea in an attempt to retrieve the bodies throughout the night but it was unsuccessful and had to in vain as they did not find other bodies either dead or alive.

Luck smiled on the team on Monday morning (7 am) as the dead bodies of four of the teens were retrieved.

Three hours later, the search team again retrieved three bodies. The total number of bodies retrieved as of Tuesday morning is 12 with two females and 10 males.

The Apam township, according to Joy News' Richard Kwadwo Nyarko has been thrown into a state of mourning on Tuesday morning as families are being consoled.

He said others are unsure what to expect as they await news of their missing teenagers.

DSP Moses Osakonor said the victims are from various households.

He said some have families from Apam and its environs as well as from Cape Coast.

The police he said are yet to establish which of the victims are from Cape Coast, Apam and other parts of the Central Region.