The remains of 13 children who drowned at Apam in the Central Region will be interred at a mass burial ceremony today, 16 March 2021.

The disaster happened a week ago when the children went to the beach to swim.

Giving an account of the incident to Parliament, the MP for Gomoa West Mr Richard Gyan Mensah, stated that “a high tide suddenly swept across the shores at the location where these young ones were swimming, dragging a number of them far offshore to the depths of the sea.”

He noted: “Sadly, only two of the victims rescued survived but with condition that required urgent medical attention”.

“They were immediately rushed to the St Luke Catholic Hospital at Apam where they were treated and discharged the next day.”

The 13 include 11 boys and two females, all of whom are in their early teens.

The first 12 bodies of the children were retrieved on Sunday, 7 March 2021 after the disaster.

On Monday, 15 March 2021, the Gomoa Akyempim Traditional Council performed rituals to appease the gods over the drowning incident.

The traditional authorities said that it had been established from consultations with the gods of the land that the teenagers lost their lives because they defied the laws of the land and went ahead to swim at a spot reserved for the gods.

The items that were used in the ritual were one cow, three sheep,12 fowls, 33 tubers of yam and three cartons of schnapps.