Volta River tragedy: Passengers refused to wear life jackets

It has been established that most passengers who travel by boats on the River Volta at Yeji refuse to put on life jackets given to them by boat owners.

According to a boat owner, the passengers reject the life jackets for fear of contracting diseases.

Scores of passengers are yet to be found hours after a boat they were traveling on capsized on Sunday, May 29.

The b odies of six children and some adults were recovered in the late afternoon search by some officers of the Ghana Navy. Some survivors were also rescued.

The boat with about 70 passengers on board is reported to have hit a tree stump and sunk in the middle of their journey from Nantwekope to Yeji in the Brong Ahafo region.

A survivor told Joy News he was on the boat with his wife, mother and three children but could only save his mother and wife.

"When I swam to save my wife, I asked her where the children were and she said they had drowned," he said in a wobbly voice.

A reporter with Alive FM in Yeji, Daniel Takyi indicated that only a few of the passengers who were on board had life jackets on.

The frustrated boat owners told the reporter the disaster could have been prevented if the passengers had their life jackets on.

Authorities in the Region have led a rescue team to search for the missing persons yet to be accounted for.

Following the disaster, the Pru District Security Committee (DISEC) has indicated it will meet on Tuesday, May 31 to deliberate on ways to prevent another ferry accident, including plans to remove tree stumps in the water body.