Tamale: Two persons die after downpour

Two persons died while two others sustained injuries following torrential rainfall in the Tamale metropolis and its environs on Thursday afternoon.

The dead have been identified as Boya Yakubu, a middle-aged woman and Christopher, an ice cream seller believed to be in his 20s. They are said to have been electrocuted in a metal container shop they had sought refuge in during the heavy downpour around the taxi rank near the Tamale Central market.

Two others who were with the deceased persons in the container during the two-hour rainfall sustained injuries and are on admission at the Tamale Teaching Hospital (TTH) where the bodies of the deceased persons have been deposited at the morgue.

The injured have also been identified as Saaka Azume and Abdul Ganiyu.

The Northern Regional Operations Director of the National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO), Mr Abu Adams who briefed Graphic Online said they received the information on the incident around 4.30 pm on Thursday and followed up.

He said the deceased and the injured persons when the rain started were said to have entered the container for shelter and it was believed that the deceased persons died as a result of an electrical fault that occurred in the shop.

Mr Adams said NADMO has dispatched rescue teams to the various suburbs in the metropolis to ascertain the extent of damage caused by the rain and if there are other casualties apart from the two deaths recorded on Thursday evening.