At least 15 people, including 11 children, have died after a boat capsized on Volta Lake in Ghana’s Oti Region, authorities said on Sunday.
The wooden vessel was reportedly carrying dozens of passengers returning from a funeral in the village of Okuma to Bovime when it overturned near Kete Krachi around 1:30 p.m. local time.
Rescue teams said four people survived, while search operations continued late Sunday to recover the remaining bodies. Witnesses told local media that the boat appeared overloaded and was hit by strong winds shortly before it sank.
“The boat was carrying more people than it could safely hold,” said Ghana Maritime Authority spokesperson Daniel Obeng. “We have launched a full investigation into the cause of the disaster.”
Local officials said the victims included children between the ages of two and fourteen, as well as four adults. Bodies recovered from the lake were transferred to a nearby morgue for identification.
The Ghana Maritime Authority said it would dispatch an investigative team to the scene and urged operators to comply with loading regulations and provide life jackets for all passengers.
Fatal accidents are common on Volta Lake, one of the world’s largest man-made reservoirs, where small, poorly maintained wooden boats often ferry passengers between remote communities without safety equipment.