By Jonathan Ofori
A teenage girl has been shot dead during the annual fire festival at Bimbilla, in the Northern Region.
The victim, identified only as Fatima, was a second-year student at Bimbilla Senior High School. She is reported to have been struck by a stray bullet during a ceremonial procession on Friday.
Local journalist Mohammed Abdul-Rashid Natogmah, who was covering the event for Beat FM, told Accra-based Joy FM that the incident occurred while revellers were moving from the regent鈥檚 palace to the Wampu Dam, part of the traditional route for the fire-throwing ceremony.
鈥淲e were at the palace when we heard someone had been hit,鈥 he said.
鈥淲e rushed to the hospital, and sadly, the body was brought in. I even assisted in removing the body.鈥
Natogmah further stated that a young woman believed to be a friend of the deceased said they had sneaked out of their homes to attend the festival despite being warned by their parents to stay away.
鈥淪he told us the girl was from Bayawaya, a suburb of Bimbilla, and her name was Fatima. Their parents had advised them not to attend, but they hid and came out anyway,鈥 he said.
It remains unclear who fired the shot, and police investigations are yet to begin.
The Fire Festival, celebrated by the Dagomba, Nanumba, and other ethnic groups in northern Ghana, is held annually to commemorate historical and spiritual events and is often marked by drumming, dancing, and the symbolic throwing of fire.