A Level 200 student of the University of Cape Coast (UCC), Innocentia Avinu, 20, was found dead after her body was washed ashore at the Hutchland beach, near the west gate of the university on the Cape Coast-Takoradi highway.
Family members confirmed the identity of the deceased following an appeal by the Cape Coast District Police Command over an unidentified body that had been washed ashore on Friday.
Chief Inspector Isaac Evans Ettie, the Public Relations Officer at the Central Regional Police Command, stated that the family, along with the UCC Dean of Students and police officials, visited the Cape Coast Teaching Hospital mortuary to confirm the identity of the deceased.
He said a careful inspection of the body was conducted in the presence of the family, revealing no immediate physical marks of assault.
He said the regional crime scene team had since visited and processed the location at Hutchland Beach.
That, he emphasised, followed a report to the police about 3:15 a.m., on Thursday, about a dead body of a female between the ages of 25 and 30 years, which had been washed ashore at Hutchland beach.
He also disclosed that a team of police officers dispatched to the scene, found the body of the deceased lying in a prone position with blood oozing from the nose.
Chief Inspector Ettie further that, the body was carefully inspected, and there were no marks of assault on it.
The body, he noted, was still at the Cape Coast Teaching Hospital morgue awaiting an autopsy to determine the exact cause of death.
The police, he said, were still investigating the circumstances surrounding the incident.
Meanwhile, the Minister of Education, Mr Haruna Iddrisu, has directed the authorities of the University of Cape Coast (UCC) to collaborate with the Ghana Police Service to conduct a full-scale investigation into the circumstances surrounding the death of the student.
A statement issued by the Ministry of Education and signed by the Press Secretary to the minister, Mr Hashmin Mohammed, said the ministry had received the news of the student’s death with deep sadness.
It said the minister had instructed the university authorities to work closely with the police to establish the facts surrounding the incident.
“The Honourable Minister for Education, Haruna Iddrisu, has directed the authorities of the University of Cape Coast to collaborate closely with the Ghana Police Service to commence a full investigation into the circumstances surrounding the student’s death,” the statement said.
The ministry expressed its condolences to the bereaved family, friends and the university community.
It also urged the public to allow the investigative process to proceed without interference.
The statement noted that the ministry was awaiting the outcome of investigations and reaffirmed its commitment to ensuring that the circumstances leading to the student’s death were thoroughly examined.
FROM DAVID YARBOI-TETTEH, CAPE COAST
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