Student dies, colleague in critical condition after fall

One of two final-year students of the Volta River Authority, (VRA), Junior High School (JHS) at Akosombo, who fell from the second floor of the two-storey school block, is dead.

Mathias Dangmor, 19, and his 18-year-old friend, Hussein Adamu Sadam, were playing on the veranda when they fell off the building and instantly became unconscious.

The two are among final-year JHS students throughout the country who are preparing to write the Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) in three weeks.

The two were rushed to the VRA Hospital at Akosombo but Mathias could not survive, while Hussein had to be rreferred to the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital because of the seriousness of his condition.

The Headmistress of the school, Mrs Vivian Boamah, told the Daily Graphic that the boys had finished a lesson about 8.00 a.m. and were whiling away time when the incident happened.

She said some of the children who were eyewitnesses to the incident had indicated that Hussein emerged from the classroom and, seeing his friend sitting on the rail of the veranda, went to embrace him when, all of a sudden, the two fell.

As soon as the incident occurred, Mrs Boamah said, the boys were rushed to the hospital in a hired taxi.

According to their Class Prefect, Master Solomon Wak, Hussein was seen earlier carrying their teacher's bag and it was after he had deposited it in the classroom that he went out and saw Mathias sitting on the rail.

Sources at the VRA Hospital told the Daily Graphic that Mathias suffered from severe internal bleeding, leading to a bloated stomach, while Hussein had a broken jaw.

The sources said when the two were sent to the hospital, they were bleeding from their noses and mouths and also had broken limbs.

They said Mathias died while being operated on in the theatre.

As a result of the incident, the mood in the school was very solemn, with most of the students and teachers seen weeping.
When the Akosombo Police was contacted, the District Commander, Supt Asumadu Okyere Darko, confirmed the incident and said the police were investigating the case.

Source: Daily Graphic