A weekend outing to wash clothes turned into a nightmare for a family in the Volta Region when a six-year-old girl, Sarah Ahiafor, drowned in an irrigation pond at Sonitra, a suburb of Kpetoe.

The incident, which occurred on Sunday, February 1, 2026, has sparked renewed warnings from emergency services regarding the dangers of unsupervised children near open water bodies.

According to preliminary reports from the Ghana National Fire Service (GNFS), the young victim had followed a group of other children to the site to wash clothes. The water body, described as a "pond-like" structure used primarily for irrigation, became a death trap when the minor reportedly slipped into the deep end.

Personnel from the Kpetoe Fire Station received a distress call at approximately 1:40 p.m. and arrived shortly after.

A rescue team, led by Assistant Station Officer (ASTNO) David Dzakah, immediately launched a search operation. While the team successfully retrieved Sarah from the water, frantic efforts to resuscitate her were unsuccessful.

The GNFS Volta Regional Command, in a statement released on Monday, February 2, noted that the children were at the site without any adult supervision at the time of the accident.

GNFS cautioned that irrigation sites and open ponds across the region pose a significant risk, particularly during the dry season when children may frequent them for chores or recreation.

“The GNFS advises parents and guardians to ensure that children do not visit or engage in activities around ponds, irrigation sites, and other open water bodies without adult supervision,” the statement urged.

The body of the deceased has since been handed over to the Ghana Police Service for preservation at a mortuary and further investigations into the exact circumstances of the drowning.

The GNFS extended its deepest condolences to the Ahiafor family, while stressing that preventing such "preventable tragedies" requires a community-wide commitment to monitoring children around water hazards.