🚨LATEST: Education Ministry Mourns Lawra SHS Students Who Drowned in Canoe Accident
Ghana’s Ministry of Education has expressed profound grief following a tragic canoe accident that claimed the lives of seven students from Lawra Senior High School. The incident occurred early Saturday morning, 14 June 2025, during a routine cadet corps exercise on the banks of the Black Volta River near Dikpe, close to the Burkina Faso border .
According to eyewitness accounts, ten cadet corps students boarded a small, unstable canoe to cross the river during their morning jog. Midway across, the canoe capsized without warning. While three students managed to swim to safety, the remaining seven—five girls and two boys—were swept away by the river’s strong current . Rescue operations, conducted by NADMO, the Ghana Police Service, and the Ghana Education Service, recovered all seven bodies later the same day .
In an official statement issued on Sunday, 15 June 2025, Minister of Education Haruna Iddrisu conveyed the government’s heartfelt condolences to the grieving families and the entire Lawra SHS community, describing the accident as “tragic” and “heart‐wrenching” . He directed the Director-General of the Ghana Education Service to convene an urgent meeting with regional and district education officials, along with the Lawra SHS headmaster, to determine how and why the students embarked on the dangerous canoe journey without safety precautions .
The Ministry has launched an immediate investigation, awaiting a comprehensive report from both the Ghana Police Service and the Ghana Education Service to shed light on the circumstances that led to this disaster . Minister Iddrisu reaffirmed the government’s dedication to improving student safety nationwide, pledging to take preventive measures to ensure students are properly supervised during school activities.
The tragic accident has sent shockwaves through not only the Lawra Municipality, but communities across Ghana. As parents, teachers, and students struggle to come to terms with the loss, the nation mourns seven promising young lives cut short too soon. The Ministry of Education, while standing in solidarity with the families, also emphasizes that lessons learned from this tragedy must translate into stronger safety protocols to prevent future occurrences.
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