Authorities are working to secure the safe return of seven crew members of a missing fishing canoe, Second Chance, after their location was established within Togolese territorial waters, Western Regional Minister Joseph Nelson has disclosed.
Mr Nelson said contact had been established with the crew, while Ghanaian authorities were engaging their Togolese counterparts to facilitate their return.
“This afternoon, I had a briefing that some contact has been established with the crew and that their location is within Togolese waters,” he said on Accra-based Citi FM on Wednesday, October 21.
“And so the Togo Navy has also been informed. Efforts are still underway to see how they can get them safely home,” he added.
Mr Nelson said search and rescue operations began on Monday, October 19, after authorities received reports of the missing fishermen late on Sunday, October 18.
“Late Sunday evening, we had information about these missing persons. And so Monday, the search and rescue operation commenced, and it’s been on till now,” he said.
His comments follow an announcement by the Western Regional Marine Police Command that it was coordinating efforts to locate the canoe and its seven crew members after the vessel failed to return from a fishing expedition offshore Axim.
The search operation involves the Ghana Navy, the Ghana Maritime Authority (GMA), the Fisheries Commission, relevant coastal police stations and fishing communities.
According to the police, the canoe’s owner, Nana Kweku Atta, reported the incident at the Fishing Harbour Police Station in Sekondi on Sunday, October 18.
Mr Atta told police that the canoe departed the Sekondi Fishing Harbour on Friday, October 9, for a fishing expedition offshore Axim but had failed to return as expected.
Preliminary investigations indicated that repeated attempts to contact the seven crew members had been unsuccessful, raising concerns about their whereabouts.
A subsequent update suggested that the canoe might have suffered engine failure at sea, potentially causing it to drift from its intended fishing grounds towards Tema and the Volta coast.
The latest information that the crew had been located in Togolese waters has prompted engagement with the country’s naval authorities to facilitate their safe return to Ghana.