Dr Adjoa Eshun Hayfron
A rescue team, yesterday, recovered the body of Dr Adjoa Eshun Hayfron, the 32-year-old medical doctor at Ridge Hospital in Accra who went missing at Teshie in Accra after torrential rains on Monday night.
The body was discovered around 10:30am yesterday by the fishermen in the area who were part of the team, comprising officials from National Disaster Management Organization (NADMO), the military and the police.
It was found lying in the bush beneath some debris at the edge of the Kpeshie Lagoon.
In the presence of the family, including the husband, Bernard Kofi Agyei Oppong, the body was conveyed to the police hospital morgue pending autopsy.
Dr Hayfron got drowned when she attempted to drive through the flood near the Demo Bridge at Teshie Bush Road with her Hyundai Accent car with registration number GY 2217-13, during the rainstorm.
The car was also removed from the Korjor stream yesterday with trucks from Road Safety Management Services Limited (RMSL).
Dr Adjoa Eshun Hafron was among six others who perished during the devastating flood that followed the heavy rains on Monday.
The bodies of the six victims had been retrieved with the exception of that of the two-month-old baby girl.
Agony
Husband of the late doctor, Bernard Kofi Agyei Oppong, indicated that they were at home attending to their 15-month-old son when the wife left home around 7pm for church to chair a meeting with the church choir.
He said shortly after she had left, he fell asleep, but the rains woke him up.
“I tried to call my wife to advise her to spend the night at her parent’s house which was closer to the church but there was no answer.”
He said an hour later, Dr Hayfron called informing him that she had been trapped at the bridge on Teshie Bush Road which is not far away from their house.
Speaking with ardor, Mr Oppong revealed that he rushed out of the house leaving behind their baby and fought through the flood to help his wife.
“I parked about 150 metres away and saw her struggling to get out of the car,” Oppong said.
“I was running through the water. I chased after the car but I was blocked by a building.”
“It’s hard to describe how I feel,” he narrated in tears.
Mr Oppong said after efforts to save his wife had failed, he went to the nearest police station to request help and when a search team was dispatched to help look for her, they could not locate her.
“At 2:30am, the search team told me there was nothing they could do and left but I continued to search for my wife until 5am,” he said.
Eyewitness
Israel Olokor, a resident who tried to save Dr. Hayfron and the two other passengers, told the media that he initially signaled Dr. Hayfron not to drive through the rushing water but she did not understand him.
He recounted that “around 10pm when the rain started falling, I got up to move my car from that side because I stay in the vicinity. But while I was moving, I discovered that the lady was on the other side and I gave her a little signal to hold on because the intensity of the floodwaters was great. After I came back, I discovered that she had made an attempt to go into the water and her car was already locked in the middle of the bridge. We made every attempt to rescue them but it was just unfortunate we rescued only two people.”
He confirmed that Dr Hayfron picked the two persons who were facing difficulties in passing through the floods in her car.
(lindatenyah@gmail.com)
By Linda Tenyah-Ayettey