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Two teenage siblings and their friend have drowned in the White Volta River at Naaga, a community in the Kassena Nankana Municipality in the Upper East Region.
The unfortunate incident happened around 3 pm on Saturday, April 15, 2023.
The deceased, two boys and one girl, were among eight teenagers between the ages of 11 and 17 who had gone to wash mangoes and swim in the river.
They reportedly went to get mango fruits from a big mango tree close to the river in the community since they were not allowed to take mangoes belonging to neighbours in the area.
After successfully plucking the mangoes, they decided to go into the river to wash the fruits.
In the process, they all jumped into the river to swim.
Unfortunately, they drifted towards the deep part of the river.
Five of them managed to swim back to the riverside, but the river carried away three others.
The five teenagers quickly rushed to the community to inform the elders and the youth, who quickly mobilised and performed the required rituals to enable rescuers to enter the river to rescue them.
After four hours of searching, the rescuers retrieved one body around 7 pm on the same day.
The team returned the following day to continue 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 the hope that the bodies of the two other teenagers would be found.
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 be given a befitting burial.
Meanwhile, the teenager whose body was first retrieved from the river has been buried.
