Mother and three children drown in Laklevikope lagoon.
A 41-year-old woman drowned with three children in a pit dug in the Keta Lagoon near Aflao in the Ketu South Municipality.
On Saturday, Madam Yawa Apenu was allegedly fishing with her children, Bridget Amewu, 14, and Daddy Amewu, 10, as well as a third child, Sitsofe Ahiawor, 8, who lived with the family.
The widower, Mr Atitso Amewu, who was said to be on the expedition, managed to swim to safety.
According to some residents who spoke to the Ghana News Agency (GNA), the pit was dug by the Seven Seas Salt Limited, which had an unfinished dyke on its concessions in the area.
The company, however, has denied the claim.
In July, two people were reported to have drowned while fishing along that stretch of the lagoon.
In an interview with the GNA following the incident, Mr Victor Ayaku, Assembly member for the area, stated:
"There is no protection around the dykes, no demarcation, and it's almost like a death trap for unsuspecting residents who want to go fishing in the lagoon."
Mr Adams Mensah, Public Relations Officer of Seven Seas Salt Limited, however, stated that the company was not to blame for Saturday's disaster.
He stated that the pit was located outside of the company's concession and that it was a fish pond owned by an individual unknown to the company.
He expressed his condolences for the loss of life and stated that the mining company was ready to assist the deceased's family.
He urged them and stakeholders, particularly assembly members in communities where the Company had concessions, to work together to prevent such avoidable deaths.
Mr Mensah stated that while the Company had built danger signs, which it would begin mounting on its concessions on Monday to keep people and fishers away from deep pit areas, it would also conduct education campaigns.
People could use sticks to test the depth of the water while fishing, he said, to avoid disasters because some people had built fish ponds in the lagoon.
Meanwhile, a Police source confirmed the incident to the GNA, saying the bodies had been deposited at the morgue and a meeting had been scheduled with the deceased's family to assist in investigations.
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