Two people tragically lost their lives when a garden pit collapsed on them in Mognori, a suburb of the Bawku Municipality.
The victims, Awal Abdulai Ayamdago and Bukari Issah, were digging a well in a dried stream to access water for their irrigation farms when the incident occurred.
They were working alongside three other survivors when the quicksand suddenly collapsed, trapping the two inside.
Despite efforts from approximately 200 local rescuers, the volume of quicksand made it difficult to reach them in time, leading to their deaths.
During the dry season, irrigation farmers face significant challenges in accessing water for their crops. It is common practice for locals to dig wells in dried dams and streams to secure water for irrigation.
Seidu Salifu, the Assembly Member for the Mognori electoral area, spoke to Citi News about the tragic incident.
“Some of our guys went to the stream to dig a well for their garden. While digging, the well collapsed on them. Upon receiving the news, about 200 people came out in numbers to excavate the soil to save them.
“It wasn’t easy exacting. We called on the Municipal Assembly for an excavator but they said the machines were not functioning.
“We manually excavated them but by the time we could get them, they had passed on. The deceased include Awal Abdulai and Issah Bukari. The police came in afterwards, but the bereaved families decided to bury the bodies. So essentially, it is a scarcity of water that has caused us this havoc.”
