The Gomoa West Security Council has disclosed that a burial service will be held next week Tuesday for 12 teenagers who drowned in the sea at Apam on Sunday.

“Bodies will be given to individual families. We are not going to have a mass burial as we had earlier suggested,” the District Chief Executive for Gomoa West, Bismark Baisie Nkum said to Citi News.

According to the council, the event which was originally slated for today has been postponed to pave way for some rites to be performed by the community.

The victims in the drowning incident were aged between 13 and 18 years.

Some reports indicated that over 20 teens may have drowned in the incident but 12 bodies have recovered so far.

A preliminary report by the police indicated that while the teens were swimming, a heavy tidal wave overwhelmed them leading to the tragedy on Sunday evening.

A search party tried unsuccessfully to recover the bodies that evening.

The next morning, four of the lifeless bodies of the teenagers were recovered and more bodies were found during the day by fishermen helping with recovery efforts.

In total, 12 bodies were retrieved; 10 males and two females.

Three of the victims who were recovered were receiving treatment at the St Luke Catholic Hospital in Apam and assisting the police in their investigations.

The bodies of the deceased are yet to be handed over to their families.