Commune de Guedé-village : Une pirogue chavire et fait quatre morts à Mbantou
Deep sorrow has gripped the town of Guédé-village, in the Podor department, following the capsizing of a pirogue that claimed the lives of four young talibés from the village of Mbantou. The tragedy occurred yesterday, Saturday, on the Senegal River, as the victims were returning from their marabout's fields.
According to eyewitness accounts, the four teenagers, all from the same family, had crossed the river that morning at the Mbantou intersection, where they were working in the fields. The accident occurred around 3 p.m. on their return journey.
According to Amadou Makhtar Ba, president of the Mbantou Economic Interest Groups Union and representative of the village chief, one of the young men steering the pirogue lost his paddle mid-crossing. Panicked, several occupants jumped into the water hoping to swim to shore.
“Yesterday, we suffered a heavy loss. We lost four of our sons. On returning from the fields, one of them lost his paddle. Seized by fear, they jumped from the canoe to try to reach the shore. Unfortunately, they did not manage to save themselves,” he confided emotionally.
A woman on the riverbank reportedly witnessed the scene. Alerted, she shouted to the children and urged the two youngest, who had remained on board, not to jump. All four disappeared into the river despite their desperate attempts to reach the shore, not far from the Guédé-village bridge.
Upon being informed, the firefighters, the brigade commander, and the sub-prefect went to the scene. After several hours of searching, the bodies of the four victims were recovered and then taken to the morgue at Podor Hospital.
This tragedy has brought renewed attention to the issue of river safety in communities along the Senegal River. In Mbantou, residents are demanding urgent measures to prevent such tragedies from happening again.
“We are asking the State to help us equip the canoes with life jackets. We are also asking the administrative and municipal authorities to pay more attention to the villages where crossing by canoe is frequent,” pleaded Amadou Makhtar Ba.
The people are also calling for increased awareness campaigns, especially during periods of flooding or when the river is turbulent.
For the villagers, the establishment and monitoring of local river safety commissions are essential in order to prevent accidents and protect river users.
In Mbantou, the pain is immense. The community mourns four young lives brutally taken, and hopes that this tragedy will serve as a wake-up call to improve safety conditions on the river.
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