Far North Region: Teenager drowns in River Mayo Kaliao

With the return of rains in the Far North Region of Cameroon, the people of the region have experienced more deaths by drowning due to water overflow.

On Sunday, June 06, 2021, another teenager was confirmed dead after he drowned in the Mayo Kaliao River in Maroua, Far North Region.

Reports say the 14-year-old was playing in the water with some of his friends when he suddenly entered into it for a prolonged period.

After a while, his friends became worried and decided to alert the population of what had happened.

A search was initiated to find the boy from the water. Unable to find him, the fire-fighting unit of Maroua was equally alerted for immediate action.

Four divers were sent into the water for a thorough underwater search. The lifeless body of the child was retrieved after about half an hour of search.

Following the sad incident, the mayor of Sani Babani has advised parents not to go to these streams for their laundry and bathing anymore, insisting that access to such streams will soon be prohibited.

“Soon we are going to restrict access and place police officers along the banks of the river Mayo Kaliao to prevent such tragedies from occurring again… It is deplorable if we have to remove dead bodies every week from the river,” he declared.

It should be noted that the latest incident is one of just over 13 children who have drowned in the same river within the 6 months. The administrative authorities have vowed to put an end to this phenomenon in the Far North Region.