Seven people have been confirmed death  after a Mercedez Benz van known in the local parlance as Geleh-geleh sank into the river between Sare Alpha and Sudowol in the Upper River Region.

The passenger vehicle was reported to have been travelling from Basse to Kantora District. 19 other people including children were seriously injured and rushed to the Basse Major Health Centre for urgent medical attention. This unfortunate incident happened on Sunday afternoon when the bridge connecting the two villages was flooded with water following a  downpour and the driver missed the way to cross the bridge and unfortunately somersaulted into river. A fire service rescue team has confirmed that 7 dead bodies have so far been recovered and one is still missing.

Ebrima Badjie, the senior nursing officer and head of Basse Health Center confirmed to the Daily Observer that out of 19 people who were received, only one person sustained a minor injury. He later confirmed that 17 of them where however been discharged. The Hydro-metrology office in Basse has also indicated that the amount of rainfall received from that area on that day of the incident was 131.1 mm. Meanwhile, the said vehicle is yet to be found and efforts are underway to remove it from the river.

In a similar vein, a heavy flood has killed 6 horses and a donkey at the village of Sutukoba in Wuli, Upper River Region. The rain that lasted for over four hours in the early hours of Monday morning also demolished some houses and destroyed other properties with heavy flood in the village of Foday Kunda.

Meanwhile, the regional disaster management committee was impelled to convene a meeting emphasisng the need for a regular radio sensitization in the region with a view to mitigate such kinds of disasters. The meeting also created the platform for the committee to take responsive measure in helping the disaster victims this year. According to Maudo Amadou Jallow, the regions disaster management co-ordinator in URR, a thorough cleansing exercise needs to be done to enhance good drainage system for Kaba-Kama a settlement in Basse.