Fishing boat sinks near Elmina

Twenty fishermen narrowly escaped death when the fishing boat on which they were travelling to  the Tema Harbour, Motor-Boat The Truth, capsized and sank off the coast of Elmina.

The boat was being taken to Tema for routine maintenance works when the incident occurred.

Speaking to the Daily Graphic, the Secretary to the Ghana Inshore Canoe Fishermen Association, Mr Emmanuel Nii Botchway, disclosed that only 12 out of the 20 fishermen initially made it ashore and the rest could not be accounted for.

“We mounted a search for the remaining people who we feared dead but fortunately, they made it to the shore of Saltpond and were duly rescued by a crew of a canoe which was on its way to the shore,” he said.

He said the 20 fishermen were later brought to Sekondi safely and given medical attention. They are currently doing well in their respective homes.

Cost of the loss

According to Nii Botchway, upon reaching Elmina, the waves entered the vessel and the crew did everything they could to scoop the water out to keep the vessel afloat but it was impossible.

He said at 5.30 p.m., the vessel began to sink. The  crew used the smaller lifeboats on board the vessel to try to get to the shore.

Unfortunately, the lifeboats were affected  by the  bad weather,  which caused the group to sail to the shore in different directions. One group made it to the shore of Elmina, while the other travelled to Saltpond before they were rescued, he indicated.

He said currently, the association was grateful for the lives of the 20 and was doing everything possible to get the crew back into business.