LAGOS, April 10 (Xinhua) -- A boat carrying about 150 people capsized on the Volta Lake in central Ghana and some 120 are still missing and feared dead, police in the west African country said on Monday.

    "It was reported on Saturday 2 p.m. (1400 GMT) by the police and fishermen," police spokesman Kwesi Ofori told Xinhua from Ghana's capital Accra. "Some 150 were aboard the boat, but only 30 have been rescued."

    "The problem is that the boat ran into a stump in the river causing the accident," Ofori said.

    So far, the bodies of three children aged one and five have been recovered and a rescue party involving police and fishermen is looking for the rest, he said.

    Ghana's leading newspaper, the Daily Graphic, reported that the passengers, who were reportedly illegal settlers on the Dudzome Forest Reserve, were forced onto the boat heading to their hometown, Abotoase, further east, by officials of the Forestry Commission.

    But the boat, also carrying the passengers' property, including livestock and personal effects, was only authorized to carry 70 people and went down at about 12 nautical miles (22 kilometers) from Abotoase after it ran over the stump and developed a hole.

    The boat also encountered strong tidal waves at that time, the report said.

    "We are yet to establish this, the police are investigating, a report is expected in the next few days," Ofori added. Enditem