Two die in collapsed ‘galamsey’ pit in Western Region
Two persons have died following the collapse of an abandoned illegal mining pit at Nsadweso, near Akyempim in the Wassa East District in the Western Region.
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Two accomplices of the deceased sustained injuries in the accident while two others are yet to be accounted for.
In spite of the moratorium placed on small-scale and illegal mining activities across the country, some ‘galamseyers’ still defy the ban and devise ways to outwit the law enforcement agencies to operate in forest reserves and obscure areas in the night.
According to the Wassa East District Director of the National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO), Mr Felix Ntribrey, there were six people in the pit but two came out alive, while two were found dead.
The rest are yet to be found.
Identification
Confirming the incident to the Daily Graphic, the Public Relations Officer of the Western Regional Police Command, Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) Ms Olivia Ewuraabena Adiku, said the police were yet to identify the bodies of the two victims and their places of origin, nationality and relations.
She said preliminary investigations by the police revealed that the pit in which the victims were operating was an abandoned one which was yet to be covered.
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Eyewitness
Some residents of Nsadweso told the Daily Graphic that the incident occurred about 5:30 p.m. yesterday when the illegal miners were busily plying their trade.
An eyewitness confirmed that two of the miners were able to come out alive but with serious injuries and were rushed to a healthcare facility in the area.
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However, help did not come on time for the other two who suffocated.
Task force
In a related development, the special joint security task force, Operation Vanguard, has chalked up some level of success by arresting hundreds of recalcitrant illegal miners, a situation which has helped to reduce galamsey activities in some mining communities in the country.