Death toll rises to seven in Lawra SHS canoe, all 10 bodies are retrieved

The death toll in the tragic canoe accident involving final-year students of Lawra Senior High School has risen to seven, following the recovery of the two remaining bodies by the rescue team. All ten students who were on board the canoe have now been accounted for.

The two final bodies were retrieved at Derwo, approximately 2 kilometers downstream from the incident site on the Dikpe River. Of the seven confirmed dead, five are female students and two are male.

The tragedy occurred on the morning of Saturday, June 14, 2025, when the students, all members of the school’s cadet corps, were on their routine weekend jogging exercise. Their route led them to the banks of the Dikpe River, where they encountered a canoe operator who had just ferried goods from the Burkina Faso side to Ghana and was heading back.

Reports indicate that the students boarded the canoe for a ride across the river. However, while in transit, strong tidal waves destabilized the vessel, triggering panic. In the chaos, some of the students jumped into the river, but tragically, all ten ended up in the water.

Three students managed to swim to safety, while the remaining seven could not be rescued in time.