The annual spillage of the Bagre Dam by Burkina Faso authorities has claimed the life of a 13-year old boy in the Northern Region of Ghana.
The young boy died in a dam in his village following the excess water that was spilled from the Bagre Dam.
Abu Ramadan, the Deputy Director of the National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO) said: “Some kids went playing by the dam, a dam that has filled to the brim as a result of the heavy rain and one got drowned.”
“My men got there…we managed to get into the water and searched and found the dead body, which we retrieved and sent to the hospital but now it’s been handed over to the family for burial”.
NADMO issued a flood alert ahead of the opening of the dam this year and warned residents along the two rivers that the combined effects of rising water levels in the White Volta and the opening of the dam could leave thousands of people affected by flooding and, therefore, urged the residents to move their valuables to higher ground for their safety.
In the estimation of the Director-General of NADMO, Mr. Eric Nana Agyemang Prempeh, the “The situation is very bad”.
He said there was collaborating with various bodies, including United Nations (UN) agencies, the 48 Engineers Regiment of the Ghana Armed Forces (GAF), the Police Service, the Fire Service, the National Ambulance Service, the Meteorological Service Department and district assemblies in the affected communities, to help mitigate the effect of the spillage on the people.