In a sad turn of events, Naaga, a community in the Kassena Nankana Municipality, has been thrown into mourning after two teenage siblings and their friend drowned in the White Volta River. The unfortunate incident occurred on Saturday, April 15, 2023, around 3 pm, while the teenagers were out washing mangoes and swimming in the river.
According to reports, the deceased, two boys, and a girl, were among eight teenagers who went to pluck mango fruits from a big mango tree close to the river in the community. Since they were not permitted to take mangoes belonging to neighbors in the area, they decided to get their own.
After successfully plucking the mangoes, they decided to wash them in the river, which led to them jumping into the water to swim. Unfortunately, they drifted towards the deep part of the river, and five of them managed to swim back to the riverside, while the river carried away the other three.
The elders and youth of the community quickly mobilized and performed the necessary rituals to enable rescuers to enter the river to rescue the missing teenagers. After four hours of searching, the rescuers retrieved one body around 7 pm on the same day. However, the team returned the following day to continue their search but was unsuccessful after searching for a whole day.
According to the assembly member for the Chaaba Electoral Area, David Anafo, another ritual had been performed as directed by the traditional priest, who expressed hope that the bodies of the two other teenagers would be found. Meanwhile, the teenager whose body was first retrieved from the river has been buried.
The Member of Parliament (MP) for Navrongo Central, Sampson Tangombu Chiragia, who visited the riverside on Sunday, encouraged the search party to go the extra mile to find the missing bodies to give them a befitting burial.
This tragic incident serves as a reminder of the need for caution when swimming in rivers, especially during the rainy season when the water levels are high. Our thoughts and prayers are with the families and loved ones of the deceased during this difficult time.
Source: The Ghana Report.