By Hou Akot Hou
Officials in Gogrial East County in Warrap state have reported that at least one person has died from drowning after a canoe leaked and overturned on Monday while 7 people onboard fell into water, leaving one person dead.
Thiik Agoth Giir, the Deputy Director for Criminal Investigation Department in Gogrial East County said the incident left one dead and 6 others were rescued.
Agoth blamed the poor handling of the boat as the downpour has made the river overflow, jeopardizing the conditions of the local people living along the rivers susceptible to such conditions.
He said the body of the girl took long time to be retrieved.
“The boat overturned and all those onboard weren’t expert at swimming all, so that made one girl died and the body disappeared for a day and half until it was retrieved in another part of the river, after it floated or it got exposed” he said.
“They were moving from Liet-Nhom and on the way while they crossed the canoe overturned leaving a girl dead and the owner of the boat fled into an unknown place on realizing the girl is dead” he Thiik expounded.
In a similar scenario Officials in Aweil South County in Northern Bahr El Ghazal state have reported that at least two people have drowned in two separate places in Aweil South and another person got rescued early this week.
According to Director of information in the Aweil South County’s Commissioner’s office, the incidents happened simultaneously as one occurred on Monday and another incident unfolded on Tuesday within Aweil South County.
Simon Lual Buuk, the Director for information, said the first incident occurred on Monday when the 70-year-old man identified as Akok Kiir was reported to have attempted to cross River-Kueng when he drowned while attempting to cross it.
“70-year-old man identified as Akok Kiir was travelling to Gak-Rol payam from Malek-Alel when he drowned on Monday and the matter didn’t stop there alone” Buk said.
Buk said the incident was also followed by another similar incident in which a 12-year-old girl passed away in a river while she was crossing with her siblings at Malek-Alek.
“In that order another incident occurred on Tuesday at Malek-Alek, which is the headquarter of the county where a young girl of 12-year-old girl attempted to cross River Kueng together with her siblings, including children of her own auntie but due to her in-ability to swim, she drowned” he stated.
Lual also revealed that another similar incident also involved a young girl who almost drowned in the same manner and was rushed to the hospital but still unconscious as she was not recuperating to the treatment.
“The other girl who is now being taken care of is called Abuk, she was saved but whenever people rushed her to the health facility, she becomes unconscious and when they bring her back to the shore of the river, she gets back to life, so people are having superstitious belief over her that some magics might be connected to her drowning as she went deep into water” He noted.
These latest incidents highlight the need for carefulness or caution once people are crossing the rivers as rivers are getting submerged in this wet season as heavy downpours begin.