By John Sam-Arthur
A 15-year-old boy, Mattew Mahama, has drowned in a stagnant pool of water at Atwimaminaso near Fiapre in the Bono Region.
The incident occurred at a section of the Sunyani outer ring road, which is currently under construction.
According to reports, the boy and some of his friends had gone swimming in a pool of stagnant water that had formed at the base of a culvert after school when the incident happened.
The site is located a few metres from where the Sunyani outer ring road crosses the Fiapre–Catholic University road in Sunyani West.
When GBC News arrived at the scene, relatives and residents had gathered, awaiting the arrival of the Ghana Police Service and the Ghana National Fire Service to help retrieve the body.
An uncle of the deceased, Kofi Mahama, recounted that on the evening of Wednesday, February 4, the headmaster of the boy’s school called to inquire about Mattew after hearing disturbing reports.
He said he rushed to the scene and later to the Odumase Police Station, where he met some of the boys who had accompanied the deceased to the construction site. According to him, the boys explained that they had gone there to swim when Mattew drowned.
“They raised an alarm at Atwimaminaso, but it was too late to save him,” Mr Mahama said.
He added that the incident was reported to the Odumase Police, who later visited the site for one of the boys to point out the exact location of the incident.
“We were asked to meet this morning to recover the body, but we have been waiting for some time,” he added.
The contractor handling the construction of the Sunyani outer ring road is Kofi Job Company Limited. The project administrator of the firm, Kwabena Agyei Arhin, said work had been halted due to two days of rainfall, which had caused muddy conditions and the formation of pools of water at the site.
He explained that when the company received information about the incident between 5:00 pm and 6:00 pm on Wednesday, officials rushed to the site before proceeding to the police station.
Although the company had organised equipment and personnel to assist with recovery efforts, he said the police asked them to wait until the following day. Mr Arhin expressed concern about the emergency response system, stressing the need for improvement.
Later in the morning, officials from Kofi Job Company, the Ghana Police Service, the Ghana National Fire Service, the Department of Urban Roads and the National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO) arrived at the scene to assist with recovery efforts.
Using excavators, a trench was dug to drain the water from the pool. Fire Service personnel later entered the area and successfully retrieved the body as the water level receded.
