The death toll in the boat disaster last night in the West African country of Ghana has risen to 35 with rescue operation still going on, it was officially confirmed on Wednesday afternoon.

In an interview with Xinhua on Wednesday afternoon, Tailor Tarkum, the superintendent of the National Disaster Management Organization (NADMO), said that 35 people had died so far in the fatal accident in which a passenger boat capsized late on Tuesday evening on the Volta Lake, 250 kilometers northeast of here.

A team comprising officers from NADMO regional office and personnel from the Ghana Navy stationed in the area had been dispatched to the scene to help in rescue efforts, said Tarkum, who is in charge of operations for the Volta region.

Tarkum promised that his outfit would do all it could to rescue survivors if there were any.

The disaster occurred when the boat, sailing from Kete-Krachi to Ekpedzi on the Volta Lake with 70 people on board, capsized at a village called Kpevi late on Tuesday evening.

The boat was said to have hit a big stump on the lake , leading to the accident.

Chief Executive of Krachi District Moses Ponye told Xinhua through telephone that the retrieved dead bodies had been deposited at the Krachi District government hospital.

Local radio quoted an eyewitness, Lumovi Kojo, as reporting that about 70 passengers, mainly traders, were on board the boat and many of them were believed to be trapped under the vessel.

He claimed that his sister and her children as well as his nephew might have died in the accident.

He said that residents in his village came to the rescue of the victims but managed to rescue only 20 passengers.