A 55-year-old diver, known as Kofi Twee, died on Friday after he was trapped by the propeller of the Volta River Authority (VRA) ferry, when he attempted to fix a fault under it in the Krachi East Municipality of the Oti Region.
The ferry, which was carting vehicles and goods from Dambai in the Krachi East to Dordoe-Korpe in the Krachi Nchumuru District developed a fault, which prevented it to dock, which the diver attempted to fix.
The deceased, who was a staff of the Volta Lake Transport Services at Dambai, was alleged to have spent more time than expected under water, necessitating a response, which discovered that he was trapped by the propeller, leading to his death.
Corporal Zakaria Asharift of the Motor Traffic and Transport Division (MTTD) at Dambai confirmed the tragedy to the Ghana News Agency (GNA).
He said the deceased had been taken to the Worawora Government Hospital mortuary for postmortem and preservation.
Attempts by the Ghana News Agency to speak to officials of the VRA failed as they were tight-lipped on the tragedy.
Meanwhile, a passenger on the ferry, Ms Lilian Donkor, sharing her experience, said the ferry began a circular motion for close to 40 minutes, in an attempt to dock on the Krachi West side with no avail.
“It was only the grace of God that allowed the ferry to hit the landing point with about 10 passengers and five cargo trucks, a salon car…and we have to jump to safety. The ferry then made a reverse movement back into the Lake,” she said.
She described the experience as horrifying.
Ms Dorcas Nakuja, an egg seller on the ferry, described the deceased as humble, patriotic and very kind.
The GNA saw the formation of queues of trucks in waiting to cross from one end of the river to the other with passengers taking refuge in canoes and boats to cross.
However, Nana Mprah Besemuna III, Krachi-Wura and President of the Oti Regional House of Chiefs, had on many occasions appealed to both the Volta Lake Transport Authority and government to provide a new ferry on the Oti River but that had not yielded any results.
Passengers and residents have also requested the construction of a permanent bridge over the river but work is yet to commence.
GNA