A spillage of the Bagre Dam in Burkina Faso has left two people dead after they attempted to salvage what was left of their destroyed farms.

National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO) Northern region coordinator, Alhaji Abdulai Slimboma confirmed to Joy News that the two drowned after trying to return from their farm lands using a canoe with harvested produce.

Two others in the canoe survived, he said.

The Bagre Dam was reaching its maximum level of 235 metres following continuous heavy rainfall.  Managers of the Burkinabe dam are often compelled to spill more water from the dam which swells the White and Black Volta Rivers at the expense of lives and property of the poor riverside dwellers.

Some of the risky areas are in West Mamprusi, Savelugu-Nanton, Kumbungu, Tolon, Gonja North, Central Gonja, West Gonja Districts in the Northern Region.

Burkina Faso authorities spilled the dam after informing Ghanaian authorities of the ritual. Several acres of farm land were submerged in the process.
Despite warnings from NADMO, some locals refused to relocate to high land areas.

The locals persisted in harvesting their crops, mainly maize.

Mr. Slimboma told Myjoyonline.com his team is still assessing the extent of the damage.