6-year-old boy drowns while crossing river to school

A six-year-old boy has drowned in a river while crossing to school.

The incident occurred at Togodo, a farming community in the Yilo Krobo Municipality of the Eastern Region on Wednesday, October 17, 2019.

The body of the deceased – Tetteh Osmond – is yet to be retrieved despite a search by a joint team of Police, NADMO and local divers.

Residents of Togodo including school children and pregnant women risk their lives every day to walk through River Ponpong whenever it overflows.

Though the community has constructed a small wooden bridge on the river to aid crossing it gets submerged whenever the river overflows compelling residents including school children to walk through the river.

The recent heavy downpour has led to the overflow of the river but residents are forced to cross with the water level around their waist while carrying foodstuffs to the market centre while pupils “swim” to attend school in a nearby community.