In an attempt to rescue her children, Mary Arthur entered the pit but also drowned
The Western Central Police Command has launched an investigation into a tragic drowning incident that claimed the lives of four people at Kwansin Baako, near Wassa Dunkwa in the Western Central Region.
According to a press release from the Regional Police Headquarters, issued and signed by the Regional Police PRO in Tarkwa on Wednesday, March 3, 2026, the incident occurred on February 28, 2026.
Kwadwo Ayew reported to the Asankrangwa Police that his brother’s wife, Mary Arthur, 43, and her three children, Kwame Asabre, 13, Agya Atta, 11, and Eric Mensah, 11, drowned in an abandoned galamsey pit filled with water.
Preliminary investigations indicate that Mary Arthur, her three children, and a nephew, Bright Mensah, had gone to fetch firewood at a nearby cocoa farm. After sending some of the firewood home, the deceased reportedly instructed the children to return with her to collect the remaining wood.
While at the farm, the three children removed their clothes and jumped into the water-filled pit to swim. Shortly after, Bright Mensah noticed they were struggling in the water and ran to alert their mother.
In an attempt to rescue her children, Mary Arthur entered the pit but also drowned.
The bodies have been deposited at the mortuary of the Roman Catholic Hospital in Asankrangwa for preservation and autopsy as police continue their investigations.
The Regional Police Command has urged parents and guardians to exercise strict supervision over children and to caution them against swimming in abandoned mining pits, rivers, and other unsafe water bodies.
Police say further updates will be communicated as investigations progress.
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