ACCRA: A boat capsized on a lake in northeastern Ghana, killing 15 people, mostly children, maritime authorities said on Sunday. &quot;Tragically, 11 of the deceased were children between the ages of two and 14 years (five males and six females)&quot; in the incident that took place Saturday on Lake Volta in the Krachi West District of the Oti Region, the Ghana Maritime Authority said in a statement. The children and other victims, aged up to 64, were traveling from Okuma to Bovime when their vessel overturned, it added. Four adults survived, the statement said, describing the accident as &quot;a critical and unacceptable breach of safety standards.&quot; Preliminary findings suggested the boat was overloaded, the authority said. A specialized investigation team, including naval personnel, was deployed to determine the cause. The authority added that it would set up a high-level investigation committee with the transport ministry and launch a &quot;sustained lakeside safety enforcement operation&quot; to ensure compliance with passenger limits and life jacket rules. Boat disasters are common on Lake Volta, often caused by overloading and collisions with tree stumps. In August, six passengers died in a similar incident. In May 2023, 18 people were killed after their boat struck a submerged tree stump. The GMA said it &quot;remains resolute in unravelling the root causes of this disaster and implementing measures to ensure that no such tragedy ever occurs again.&quot;

Africa

Authority says it will set up a high-level investigation committee with the transport ministry, launch a "sustained lakeside safety enforcement operation" to ensure compliance with passenger limits and life jacket rules.



Ghana boat capsize kills 15, mostly children: authorities

ACCRA: Eleven West African nationals deported by the US to Ghana were sent to their home countries over the weekend despite safety concerns, their lawyer told a court in Ghana on Tuesday. The US had deported a total of 14 West African immigrants to Ghana under controversial circumstances. Although Ghanaian authorities earlier said they had all been sent home, the deportees and their lawyers later told The Associated Press that 11 of them were still at a military facility in Ghana. The 11 deportees sued the Ghanaian government last week, seeking their release. Eight of them had told the local court that they had legal protections from being deported to their home countries &ldquo;due to the risk of torture, persecution or inhumane treatment.&rdquo; &ldquo;We have to inform the court that the persons whose human rights we are seeking to enforce were all deported over the weekend,&rdquo; their lawyer, Oliver Barker-Vormawo, told the court Tuesday at a virtual hearing, adding that the suit had become irrelevant. &ldquo;This is precisely the injury we were trying to prevent,&rdquo; he said of the safety concerns of the deportees. The Trump administration&rsquo;s deportation program has faced widespread criticism from human rights experts who cite international protections for asylum-seekers and question whether immigrants will be appropriately screened before being deported. The administration has been seeking ways to deter immigrants from entering the US illegally and remove those who have already done so, especially those accused of crimes, and including those who cannot easily be deported to their home countries. Faced with court decisions that migrants can&rsquo;t be sent back to their home countries, the Trump administration has increasingly been trying to send them to third countries under agreements with those governments. Ghana has joined Eswatini, Rwanda, and South Sudan as African countries that have received migrants from third countries who were deported from the US.

Eleven West African migrants deported by the US to Ghana were sent home despite legal protections against torture and persecution, their lawyer said, calling it a violation of human rights amid Trump’s controversial deportation program.

Articles tagged with "Ghana"

Ghana boat capsize kills 15, mostly children: authorities

US deports 11 Ghanaian migrants despite safety concerns

Ghana boat capsize kills 15, mostly children: authorities