FOUR members of the same family have drowned in the Luapula River after a canoe they were on capsized due to strong waves on Tuesday afternoon.

In a statement, Wednesday, Police Spokesperson Esther Katongo explained that the deceased; among them a 15-year-old female juvenile, were paddling back to the shores of Kanyemba Village of Chief Kashiba’s area in Mwense District, after visiting their sick uncle in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

“Details of the report are that on Tuesday 7th April, 2020 around 16:00 hours, four people identified as Geoffrey Chama 26, Priscilla Kabaso 28, Helen Musonda 32 and female Juvenile Grace Kasumba 15, all of Kanyemba Village, Chief Kashiba in Mwense District, were paddling their canoe back to the shores of Kanyemba Village, after visiting their sick uncle in Congo. However, before they could reach the shore, they came across strong waves and in the process, the canoe capsized. All of them drowned and their bodies have been retrieved from the river. Bodies are in Mwense District Hospital Mortuary,” stated Katongo.