Mother loses two girls, father loses son in River Offin canoe tragedy

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Four more bodies have been retrieved from the River Offin in which seven people drowned last Saturday.

The bodies includie a 9-year old girl and 8-month old baby girl all belonging to one mother who survived after their canoe capsized.

River Offin had overflown its banks following heavy rains last Friday. But it did not dissuade 13 persons from overloading a canoe to reach their farms at the other side.

Tree trunks and buffeting waves proved too much for the canoe ill-equipped with any safety equipment.

Luv Fm’s Erastus Asare Donkor reported, years of illegal mining on the river bed had created heaps of sand in the river.

But after the downpour, it was difficult to navigate your way around the thick sands that had become small mass of land over the river.

The woman who lost two girls said, frightened men in the canoe jumped the canoe leaving women and children in their bid to get to safety. She said the force they used in jumping out also contributed in destabilising the canoe.

When the boat eventually capsized, the cloth that fastened the 8-month old baby of her mother loosed in the choppy waters.

The mother who managed to hold onto a tree trunk said she watched her 8-month old washed away and drown.

Divers have also found the bodies of a 45-year old man, Wofa Yaw and his 21-year old son Owura.

The four bodies retrieved Monday brings the total number of bodies to five after a woman in her late 50s, Ramatu Amadu was dragged out Saturday. Only one remains missing – a woman.