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Four people have perished and three others survived when the canoe they were traveling in Apac district capsised. The victims were crossing from Arocha swamp to the Ibuje sub-county.

The deceased, according to Apac Resident District Commissioner George Abudul are Emmanuel Ongora, 1; Jackline Acio, 8; Asante Odongo, 12 and Patrick Ebong, 24.

Abudul on Wednesday, December 6, 2023, evening also identified the survivors as Winnie Anyango, 22; Isaac Oula, 3 and Walter Ogwal, the canoe operator.

According to the RDC, the tragic incident occurred on December 5, at about 5:00 pm while the victims were traveling from Alworoceng village to Amii-Amilo parish in Ibuje.

“The group opted to use a canoe because the road connecting the two villages is flooded, however, the operator of the canoe and other people were drunk,” he says.

Bodies recovered

Abudul says all four bodies have been recovered by the community members and handed over to the relatives for burial.

He urged all road users to carefully plan their routes while avoiding heavily flooded and cut-off roads which might lead to accidents and fatalities.

“Driving or walking through flooded areas is not advisable as it is difficult to determine the depth and strength of the water which can result in loss of property and death,” he added.  

The district secretary for health and education Sam Opira blamed the accident on the damaged road linking the area to Ibuje which is impassable.

“It was due to a broken road network between Amii and Alworoceng that they opted to cross using a canoe,” he said.