A 20 year old man, identified as Kombat Yaw Yiremiah, has drowned in a river separating Ghana and Togo at Tambalug in the Tempane District of the Upper East Region.
The tragedy occurred around 10:30am on Sunday, August 16, while Yiremiah was reportedly assisting travellers to cross the river. As of the close of day on Monday, August 17, his body had not been found, and community members, relatives and personnel of the National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO) are engaged in a search.
According to his family, Yiremiah and some of his colleagues regularly helped travellers, including Togolese nationals and people arriving from Kumasi, Accra, Bolgatanga and Tamale, cross the river in either direction. He had reportedly gone about this usual activity on Sunday when the tragedy struck, turning an ordinary day of helping others into a desperate search for his own life.
The Tempane District Director of NADMO, George Alale Akuka, confirmed that his team had been involved in the search for the missing man's body. He said the team had covered a considerable distance along the river but had, as of Monday afternoon, been unable to locate it. He described the situation as serious and said efforts to find and recover the body were continuing. "So myself and my team, we are still on the ground searching for him," he said.
Akuka also disclosed that traditional consultation had become part of the recovery effort, explaining that the community had reached out to people previously involved in locating victims in similar circumstances. He said the team had been told that, following the consultation, there was confidence the body could be found. "They consulted the one who used to consult the gods before they see the victim, so they get the direction, and we are confident that in about a few hours from now, we will get him," he said, adding that his team remained on the ground and would continue monitoring the situation.
Following the incident, the family and residents appealed to the Ghana Police Service and NADMO to provide the support needed to recover the body, saying professional rescue personnel and proper equipment were required to search safely and effectively given the difficult conditions at the river.
The incident has left the family and the Tambalug community in shock, particularly because Yiremiah was helping people cross the border river when he drowned. The community is appealing to the authorities to act swiftly to support the search and bring closure to the grieving family, who remain anxiously waiting for their son's body to be recovered.
