An unspecified number of people fleeing fresh communal violence in the Sawla-Tuna-Kalba District of the Savannah Region have drowned after their boat capsized on the White Volta while attempting to cross into Côte d’Ivoire.
The victims were escaping renewed clashes around Gbenyiri when their vessel overturned near the Dinie-Tuonbo enclave.
Savannah Regional Director of the National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO), Mahama Zakaria, confirmed to 3News that six people were rescued, while several others remain unaccounted for. A NADMO-led search and rescue team has since been deployed to recover the missing.
Zakaria cautioned that the death toll could rise, as hundreds of displaced residents are still stranded at Dinie, waiting for safe passage.
“The priority now is to save lives and retrieve those still missing,” he stated.
The White Volta, one of Ghana’s largest rivers, has a history of deadly accidents, often linked to overcrowding, poorly maintained boats, and the lack of life jackets.
