UPDATE - 3 children rescued, 12 drown at Ghana beach

UPDATES DEATH TOLL, ADDS DETAILS; REVISES HEADLINE, DECK; EDITS THROUGHOUT

ANKARA (AA) – The bodies of 12 children who drowned in the sea at Apam in Ghana’s coastal Central Region have been retrieved, local media reported on Tuesday.

Three more children have been found alive, according to news channel Adom TV.

Authorities believe a group of at least 20 children, aged between 14 and 17, were swept away by strong waves while swimming at a beach in Apam, capital of the Gomoa West District, on Sunday evening.

With beaches closed to the public due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the group used a different route through a lagoon to get to the beach to avoid being noticed, the report said.

Moses Osakonor, a senior police official in Apam, said the survivors were unsure about the exact number of children at the beach, but a 14-year-old boy who was rescued told police that there were more than 20 in the water.