ABIDJAN: A heartbreaking incident occurred in Ivory Coast’s southeast when seven schoolgirls drowned while being transported to school in a canoe that capsized, according to rescue authorities and local media reports on Sunday.
The Police Secours information platform stated that ten students from a Koranic school embarked on a canoe journey to cross the River Bia and reach their school on the opposite bank on Thursday. Unfortunately, during the crossing near Aboisso, approximately 100 kilometers (62 miles) east of Abidjan near the Ghanaian border, the canoe struck a tree stump, causing it to overturn.
Although three students were rescued from the turbulent waters, tragically, seven young girls lost their lives in the incident. The victims, aged between eight and 12, succumbed to the river’s powerful currents.
Ivory Coast Police Investigation
The bodies of the deceased girls have been recovered, and authorities have initiated a police investigation into the accident, as reported by the Fraternite Matin newspaper.
