At least 10 Ghanaians have been declared missing on Monday after a trawler sank off the coast of Ghana. According to a report by AFP, a Ghanaian vessel operated by a Chinese company sank due to a storm, leaving at least 11 of its workers missing.
In a statement revealed by Paul Bannerman, the deputy director of the fisheries ministry of Ghana, the “MV Comforter II“, a Ghanaian vessel operated by a Chinese company, sank during a storm about 180 km off Takoradi (southwest), Ghana’s second-largest port.
“26 crew members were on board when the incident occurred. So far we have rescued 15 people, and 11 are still missing.”
While the search and rescue teams continue to work very hard to ensure that these missing individuals are found, the minister has confirmed that among the 11 missing workers are 10 Ghanaians and one Chinese worker. Unfortunately, dozens have also been left severely injured and traumatized due to the events.
Bannerman had noted that the workers were fusing when a heavy storm began to drive them off course in the most disastrous way.
A police source had reported the case to the Ghanaian Daily times, claiming that “The crew was carrying a net that had caught a lot of fish and, at the time, it was raining heavily. As they tried to take the fish on board, the boat turned over, causing the disaster.”
Foreign vessels must register under the Ghanaian flag and obtain local licenses to use the country’s waterways.
According to a 2018 survey conducted by the Environmental Justice Foundation, a British environmental and human rights NGO, 90% of fishing vessels operating in Ghana are owned by Chinese firms.
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