Five-year-old Hamza Ahmed has been swept away by floodwaters in an open drain at Fish Pond in the Okaikwei North Constituency, Greater Accra Region.
The incident occurred on Sunday, May 17, 2026, as children were returning home from a corn mill factory, family members confirmed.
According to family spokesperson and uncle, Imam Yussif Sakeem, the boy slipped into a storm drain during heavy rains. His 20-year-old sister jumped in to rescue him but was unsuccessful.
“After the heavy rain, his lifeless body is yet to be discovered,” Sakeem said.
The National Disaster Management Organization (NADMO) and the police have begun investigations into the incident to establish the circumstances that led to the boy’s death.
Assemblyman for Nii Noi Boiman Electoral Area, Nii Otu Lartey, blamed the tragedy on the lack of covered drains in the area.
He appealed to the Municipal Assembly and government to urgently construct new gutters and desilt waterways to prevent perennial flooding.
Member of Parliament (MP) for Okaikwei North, Theresa Lardi Awuni, expressed sympathy to the bereaved family over the loss.
She called on local assemblies to collaborate on lasting solutions to flooding and urged the creation of a task force to curb the indiscriminate dumping of refuse into open gutters, which she said worsens flooding during rainfall.
Search efforts for Hamza Ahmed are ongoing.
Source: Kwadwo Baffour Atuahene
