Three bodies have been retrieved after a boat in which they were travelling on Thursday, sunk on the White Volta around Bimbini in the West Mamprusi District of the Northern Region.

One other person who was in the boat before the incident could not, however, be accounted for, according to reports.

A source told Myjoyonline.com that victims, who were all five in number, had boarded the canoe to cross the river to pray at a nearby Mosque when the disaster struck.

The source said victims lost control in the middle of their journey when they unconventionally decided to use cutlases to paddle their canoe instead of the usual paddle.

The Deputy Coordinator for National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO) in charge of Operations, Abu Ramadan confirmed the incident to Adom News' Northern Regional Correspondent Illiasu Abdul Rauf.

Mr Ramadan said upon receiving the report, his outfit quickly dispatched a team to Bimbini but on their arrival, only one person out of the five could be rescued by the villagers.

The team together with the help of local fishermen is still searching for the fifth person, Mr. Ramadan stated.

Meanwhile the District Police Commander for the area DSP Obrako Sarpong said he got the report and he has sent his men to the scene and they are yet to brief him.