Six Ghanaian migrants were thrown overboard on the Mediterranean sea following a fight concerning their Christian religion, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has confirmed.
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6 Ghanaians thrown into Mediterranean sea
Government has confirmed that six Ghanaian migrants died on the Mediterranean sea.
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So far, only three of the drowned Ghanaians have been identified by the help of four survivors of the incident.
The incident aboard the rubber dinghy, which was carrying about 100 migrants, took place in the Strait of Sicily, between Tunisia and Italy.
According to a group of Nigerian and Ghanaian survivors, a fight broke out over religion, with a group of Muslim passengers threatening the Nigerians and Ghanaians after the latter – who were in the minority – declared themselves to be Christians.
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The threats then materialised and 12 people, all Nigerian and Ghanaian, were believed to have drowned in the Mediterranean.
The victims were of Christian faith, compared to their attackers who were of Muslim faith,” police said in a statement, saying the 15 people arrested were accused of “multiple aggravated murders motivated by religious hate.
However, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Hannah Tetteh on her Facebook page said its investigation has revealed that there are four survivors.
"These four survivors with two other Nigerians are the key witnesses for the prosecution. The 3 identified of the 6 drowned are Nana Yaw, born in 1987, Kwasi Amankwa about 35years and Kwadwo Asiedu estimated to be 21years old. The four survivors and key witnesses are: Emos Yeboah born on 25/9/1981. Kwadwo Kona Augustine 14/2/1989. Kwesi Agyeman 16/9/1989 and Osman Jamal 15/03/1996."
She continued that, her outfit after a Consular Officer visited Palermo, where the surviving migrants were camping.
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The survivors are also helping Italian authorities to investigate the incident.
According to the Foreign Ministry, interviews conducted with the survivors at the Palermo camp revealed that there was a fight on the boat that sparked by a religious argument.
"They [those who were engaged in the row] started first with the activities of ISIS, Boko Haram and then the argument became Muslim-Christian affairs and degenerated to the point where the deceased were thrown overboard.
"We have also learned that there were other Ghanaian nationals on the boat but have been taken out of Palermo to the other regions. We are expecting the location(s) to be indicated shortly so that the mission can get in touch with them as soon as they receive those details."
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