Photo-taking turns tragic as crocodile attacks tourists

Reports yet to be confirmed say the tour guide failed to give the crocodile a chicken before the tourists attempted to pose for pictures with it as it is usually done.

However, the reptile remained calm as people took turns to take photos with it until a woman, unfortunately, touched it from its side.

It suddenly got wild and attacked her to the fright of the other tourists who had to flee for their precious lives.

According to the Akatsi North District Assembly, the victim suffered minor injuries and is currently doing well.

The Ave-Dakpa crocodile pond in the Akatsi North District is one of the underreported tourist destinations in the Volta region. It suffered low patronage during the peak of the covid-19 pandemic, and it appears to be regaining its former glory as restrictions on some of those centers have been partially lifted.

Meanwhile, the Akatsi North District Assembly says it will launch a full-scale investigation into the incident, saying the victim sustained minor injuries.

The assembly has assured that it will put in place measures to avoid a reoccurrence of the incident.

It added that its preliminary investigations show that the incident occurred on December 20, 2020, when a group of local tourists visited the crocodile resort to have fun.

“The Tour guide was unable to properly direct the female tourist as to how she can position herself before touching the crocodile in that moment of excitement,” a statement released by the Akatsi North District Assembly which manages the site said in part.

The assembly also assured the general public that the crocodiles at Ave Dakpa Crocodile Resort are friendly, the assembly urged the public and the media to desist from the further circulation of the attack video due to its sensitive nature and trauma on the victims.

Read the assembly’s preliminary findings below:

Preliminary investigations initiated with the technical assistance from the Ghana Tourism Authority on 2^nd January 2021, have revealed a number of observations worth reviewing;

The unfortunate incident occurred on 20^th December, 2020.
But no report was made by the guests to the Assembly for redress.
One woman (main victim) as seen in the video was part of a group of local tourists who visited the Ave Crocodile Resort to have fun.
The tourists were having fun taking photos with one of the crocodiles and when it was the turn of the woman before the unfortunate incident happened.
The woman sustained some level of injury and was taken to a health facility for treatment and thankfully was discharged.
The rest of the local tourists did not suffer any injury but proved very supportive in getting their colleague to the health facility immediately.
The tour guide was unable to properly direct the female tourist as to how she can position herself before touching the crocodile in that moment of excitement.
Some security lapses have also been identified as a result of the incident which will require urgent attention.
Assembly’s revenue staff were not at post when the incident occurred.
Even the tour guide did not report the incident to the Assembly.

The Akatsi North District Assembly shall institute a full-scale investigation into the operations of the facility and instruct measures in consultation with appropriate stakeholders like the Ghana Tourism Authority and Wildlife Division to bring the issue to finality and prevent recurrence in the future.

The Akatsi North District Assembly will like to assure the general public that the crocodiles of Ave Crocodile Resort are so friendly and that this is an isolated incident which could have been avoided.

We regret any inconveniences this incident, and it’s associated videos may have caused all while thanking all for the show of interest and support so far.

For the sensitive nature of the video to the general public and the victim and those traumatized as a result of this video, we will like to plead with the media to stop further circulation of the video and direct any issue relating to the video and the incident that happened to the Akatsi North District Assembly for redress.

Photo-taking turns tragic as crocodile attacks tourists at Ave-Dakpa in the Volta region (video)

A heart-stopping video of the incident shows the frightened tourists running helter-skelter while screaming “Jesus” repeatedly.

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