Three Die In Well

Three men, contracted to dig a well at Doba, near Navrongo in the Upper East Region, met their untimely death when they suffocated inside the well. The deceased, Achana Anaga, 25, George Webuge, 40, and John Awah, 30, were engaged last Saturday, by Abolga Kanpeki, a resident of Doba to dig a well for him in his family house. Chief Inspector Thomas Yaw Agbanyo, the Regional Police Public Relations Officer, told the newsmen on Wednesday that Kanpeki, the man who engaged the services of the three men reported their death to the Navrongo Police. He said after digging the well on Saturday, the three took a water pumping machine inside the well to pump out water that had collected in the well, but in the process they suffocated to death. He said Anaga was the first to enter the well but failed to respond to the calls of those outside the well. After sometime, Webuge out of curiosity to find out what was happening to his colleague went into the well but also failed to respond to calls. After that Awah, the third person, too went into the well. He was called many times by people around the well but he did not respond. Mr Agbanyo said that the pumping machine was on throughout the period that the three men were in the well but went off before Kanpeki could call for more help to find out what was happening. The police assisted by residents, managed to bring out the bodies of the three which were deposited at the mortuary of the Navrongo War Memorial Hospital. A post-mortem report said the three died out of suffocation from the carbon monoxide produced by the pumping machine. The dead bodies have since been released to their families for burial.