Atuabo dead Whale buried

The dead whale which was washed ashore at Atuabo, in the Ellembelle District of the Western Region, has been buried after some rituals were performed by the traditional leaders of the area.

The mammal was left there for about three days before the community, led by some traditional rulers and the area’s chief fishermen, went and buried it.

DAILY GUIDE gathered that before the dead whale was carried by a bulldozer from the shore for burial, some rituals, including the pouring of libation, were performed.

The dead whale was washed ashore at Atuabo in the Ellembelle District of the Western Region last Sunday morning.

Measuring about 10 metres, the sea mammal was found in-between the pre-fabrication area of the Ghana Gas Company and the Atuabo cemetery.

The Assembly member for Atu­abo, John Quashie, who confirmed the story, indicated that as at 3:00pm yesterday, the mam­mal was still lying at the shore.

He told DAILY GUIDE that at about 7:00am last Sunday he had information that a whale had been washed ashore in the area, and so he went to the scene to catch a glimpse of it.

The assemblyman indicated that the mammal had started decomposing and the stench emanating from it was too bad.

He noted that even though he had reported the case to the district assembly, nothing was done about the situation as at last Monday.

An eyewitness was worried about what was gradually becoming a peri­odic feature in the Nzema area and called for an urgent investigation into the recurrent death of whales there.

He disclosed that there had been over 21 reported cases of dead whales being washed ashore in the Nzema area since the drilling for crude oil started in 2010.

Another eyewitness alleged that the mammal was decomposing because he suspected the whale was hit by a heavy object or it might have collided with a vessel.

He asserted that parts of the sea mammal appeared to have been dam­aged, which suggested that it might have had an impact with a heavy object that was huge enough to kill it.

According to him, the issue of dead whales being washed ashore in their area was becoming rampant, and called for a proactive measure to check it.

He also suggested that a team from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) should move to the area and initiate investigations to find out the cause of death of the whales.