Ada, Accra – The Ghana Navy is actively engaged in a search and rescue operation following a tragic boat accident that occurred last Tuesday in Ada.
The incident involved the capsizing of two canoes in the estuary at Kewunor within the Ada East District, as reported by the National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO).
One of the canoes, known as “Barcelona” from Tema, overturned in the Ada estuary, an area known for a history of accidents, resulting in the disappearance of the fishermen on board.
According to Mr. Ebenezer Dan Doe, the Ada East NADMO Public Relations Officer, out of a total of 19 fishermen aboard the two canoes at the time of the incident, one person has been found dead, and 15 have been successfully rescued.
The search and rescue efforts have been intensified by NADMO and the Ghana Navy to locate the remaining three individuals.
Mr. Doe urged all stakeholders to join in the search for the missing fishermen. He mentioned that the combined team of NADMO officials and Ghana Navy personnel, along with local fishermen, were continuing their efforts to locate the individuals.
As a precautionary measure, he advised fishermen to carefully assess the weather conditions before embarking on fishing expeditions to mitigate the risk of similar incidents in the future.
In response to the incident, Mr. Daniel Ameduame Sotie, the National Financial Secretary of the Canoe and Fishing Gear Owners Association of Ghana (CaFGOAG) revealed that the association provides its members with daily weather reports from the Ghana Meteorological Agency to inform them about sea conditions.
Mr. Sotie acknowledged that there might be communication challenges for fishermen and suggested the possibility of implementing community-to-community education to address such issues and prevent future accidents.
Reporting by Laudia Sawer. Editing by Mariam Aminu.
