A 5-year-old girl has died after falling into a water-filled manhole at Ansaful, near the Christ Apostolic Church in Winneba, with firefighters later retrieving her lifeless body.

The tragic incident occurred on Thursday, September 3, 2026, at about 7:57 p.m., according to the Winneba Municipal Command of the Ghana National Fire Service (GNFS).

The girl’s father, identified as Francis Zewu, rushed to the Winneba Fire Station to report the incident, leading to the deployment of a 4-member rescue team at 8:16 p.m.

The team, led by STNO I Anthony McCarthy, arrived at the scene at about 8:32 p.m. and found relatives and church members gathered around the manhole, which was approximately 12 feet deep, uncovered and filled with water.

Firefighters immediately commenced a recovery operation using a water pump. After about 34 minutes of work, the team successfully retrieved the body of the child from the manhole.

The body was subsequently handed over to the Police at the scene for further action.

The incident has plunged the girl’s family and residents of Ansaful into grief, with the community mourning the loss of the young child.