On Tuesday, January 24, 2023, a boat carrying eight school children from the Atikagome hamlet in the Sene East District of the Bono East Region capsized on the Volta Lake, killing them all.
Twenty school children were traveling by boat from Atikagome to Wayokope, where their school is located, including the eight who perished.
As a result of the sad incident, the government is planning to build a school in Atikagome so that the community will have its own school and will not have its children cross Volta Lake and risk their lives.
This was confirmed by the Minister of Education, Hon. Yaw Osei Adutwum in an interview with GTV.
In the meantime, the Minister says the government is “going to work with the marine police to deploy a boat that will transport the children to school safely with a boat and life jackets.”
We shall build a school in the village where the 8 school children died.
In the meantime, we're going to work with the marine police to deploy a boat that will transport the children to school safely with a boat and life jackets – Education Minister, @yoadutwum #GTVBreakfast pic.twitter.com/RuVzyStELs
— GTV Ghana (@GTV_Ghana) January 30, 2023
According to NADMO, the eight schoolchildren who lost their lives were made up of five boys and three girls between the ages of five and 12.
The Sene East District Director of NADMO, Ibrahim Wudonyim, told Graphic Online that before they got to the accident scene, some community members and Marine Police had managed to retrieve all eight bodies from the Lake.
