55-year-old farmer drowns in White Volta at Yama

A 50-year-old farmer drowned in the White Volta at Yama, a farming community in the West Mamprusi Municipality of the North East Region on Monday.

The incident occurred while the deceased, identified as Baba Takwara, was working with 10 other men to salvage his crops cultivated along the White Volta in anticipation of flooding from the spillage of the Bagre Dam.

The deceased is said to have gone to fetch water from the White Volta with a gallon, but failed to return.

His colleagues later found the gallon floating, sparking a frantic search.  The body was retrieved later.

The North East Regional Director of the National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO), Alhaji Tahiru Rafiu, who confirmed the incident to Graphic Online explained that the deceased is believed to have slipped into the river and was unable to swim ashore.

He clarified that, contrary to earlier reports, the farm itself was not flooded at the time of the incident. 

Rather, he said the deceased was harvesting his crops in anticipation of flooding from the Bagre Dam spillage. The body has since been buried in accordance with Islamic traditions.

Alhaji Rafiu cautioned farmers in the area against working too close to the river during this period and urged residents of lowland communities to take precautionary measures, as the Bagre Dam spillage is expected to increase water levels in the coming days.

Spillage 

On Monday, August 25, SONABEL, Burkina Faso’s national electricity company, began spillage of excess water from the Bagre Dam. 

The move follows the rapid rise in water levels at the Bagre and Kompienga dams. 

Writer's email: mohammed.fugu@graphic.com.gh