According to sources, Joheh and several of her girlfriends, most of them students of Gola Fortunate School, Bakau, went to the beach at Bakau Cape Point for a pre-Ramadan fun evening when the tragic incident occurred.
Haddy Jahateh, mother of the deceased, told this paper that the body was recovered from sea on Friday and the remains interred on Saturday at the Bakau cemetery.
An eye-witness, Yaya Sidibeh, who joined in efforts to rescue the luckier Oumie Saho explained: “I was walking on the beach with my friends when I lifted my head and saw three girls swimming in the sea. Then one of them later identified as Joheh Jarju started waving frantically for help in the waters. All of a sudden, she went down and didn’t come up again. I knew something was terribly wrong. I ran towards the water and shouted to others for help. We were able to grab Oumie Saho but we couldn’t reach Joheh. The water had already swallowed her. We tried to revive Oumie Saho but she was not responding well, so we rushed her to Serekunda Hospital. The third girl (unidentified) made it out but was coughing badly. Their friends came and were wailing all over.
When we visited Serekunda Hospital yesterday to check on recuperating Oumie, her mother Aji Wadda said the doctors assured her Oumie will make a full recovery and may be released soon.
Meanwhile, a grieving Haddy Jahateh said this of her daughter: “Joheh was a very respectful young girl. She just returned from school on Thursday and proceeded to the beach with some of her friends. They went for a swim but Allah decreed that she would never come out of the water. I pray for Allah to grant mercy and forgiveness for her soul. She was a kind and intelligent young girl. What Allah wills, happens,” she mourned with tears welling in her eyes.
Awa Sonko and Mam Fatou Sanneh, friends of the deceased young girl said she was a kind, gentle and respectful person.
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