The search for seven missing students of Lawra SHS has ended in tragedy, with local authorities confirming that all bodies have been recovered after a canoe capsized during a cadet exercise.
The last two bodies were retrieved early Sunday morning, marking the close of a 24-hour rescue and recovery operation that began on Saturday, June 14, 2025.
The accident claimed the lives of seven students, all part of the school’s cadet corps, who were on a routine early morning jogging activity.
Attempting to cross the Black Volta River at Dikpe—a ritualistic route long used by cadet groups—they boarded an overloaded canoe that capsized midstream.
Three students managed to swim to shore, but seven others were swept away by strong currents.
Five bodies were recovered by Saturday evening, while the final two were found the following morning.
A tradition turns deadly
According to Abdul Latif Osman, Upper West Regional Director of the National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO), the students were engaged in a longstanding group ritual involving cross-border jogging into Burkina Faso.
This tradition typically ends with students crossing the river and returning to Ghana.
However, this year’s group deviated from the usual route and met a young Burkinabe canoe operator on the Burkina side, who agreed to ferry them across.
Eleven people—ten students and the canoe operator—boarded the small canoe, which was only built to carry fewer than ten. Midway through the river, the canoe overturned.
Three students—two females and a male—along with the operator, managed to swim ashore.
The remaining seven, unable to fight the current, went missing in the river’s depths.
Search, rituals, and recovery
Residents of Dikpe quickly reported the disaster. Following traditional customs, local elders performed rituals at the riverbank before rescue efforts commenced.
A combined team of NADMO officials, residents, and volunteers launched an intensive search.
By midday Saturday, five of the bodies were recovered.
The canoe was also retrieved, but the young operator fled the scene and remains at large.
Law enforcement has launched a manhunt.
Officials rally for response
The tragedy has attracted swift attention from both regional and municipal authorities.
The Lawra District Security Committee (DISEC), the Regional and Municipal Directors of Education, and the management of Lawra SHS visited the scene to oversee the situation and provide immediate support.
“This is not just a tragedy for the school but for the entire region,” said Mr. Osman. “We are committed to helping the families find closure and will coordinate the necessary psychosocial support.”
The Municipal Chief Executive is expected to lead a delegation to meet with bereaved families in the coming days, offering grief counselling and coordinating funeral arrangements.
A tragic pattern repeats
This is not the first time Lawra SHS has been struck by river-related tragedy.
In 2008, a student drowned in the same river during a Geography Club trip.
That incident sparked calls for tighter control over school excursions involving natural water bodies.
Community in grief
The Lawra community is in deep mourning.
Heartbroken parents, teachers, and fellow students have gathered at the school and hospital to grieve together.
The Lawra Municipal Hospital is holding the bodies of the deceased students, pending autopsies and burial arrangements.
Crisis response teams are offering psychological support to affected students and families.
Local churches and mosques have also begun organizing memorial services.
Meanwhile, the canoe operator who fled the scene remains a key focus of the ongoing police investigation.
Authorities are treating the incident with the utmost seriousness and are determined to prevent a repeat of such a devastating loss.
