Two brothers drowned in an abandoned quarry lake in the Akatsi South Municipality after trying to rescue their nine-year-old sibling who was struggling in the water, officials have said.
Felix Dogbey, 18, and Christian Dogbey, 25, lost their lives at the lake between Live Donorkope and the Catholic Secretariat on Friday afternoon.
The brothers had travelled from Asikuma to Live Donorkope with friends to attend a funeral. During the visit, their younger brother, Eric Dogbey, reportedly got into difficulty while swimming in the lake at about 4pm.
According to the Akatsi South Director of the National Disaster Management Organisation, Daniel Gidi, Felix managed to save the nine year old boy but drowned in the process. Christian then entered the water in an attempt to rescue Felix but also failed to survive.
Mr Gidi said initial efforts by local divers to retrieve the bodies were unsuccessful. Officers from the Naval Training Command were later called in to assist with the search operation.
The bodies of the two brothers surfaced on Sunday morning and were retrieved by personnel from the Akatsi Police Command. They have since been deposited at the St Paul’s Hospital mortuary pending autopsy.
The deaths have thrown the family and residents of Akatsi Alagbokope into mourning, with many describing the incident as devastating.
