Despite the tragic experiences linked with the operation of galamsey pits in the country, some people still take the danger of going deep into the earth to mine gold for the love of money.
About ten young people from the Wassa Essikuma hamlet in the Prestea Huni Valley Municipality of the Western Region died last night in a galamsey pit they were running.
A dozen more people were hurt, but they were able to crawl out of the debris and to the surface. An excavator employed for the operation was turned on late at night to exhume the bodies of the ten victims who had become trapped in the mine pit.
According to preliminary examinations, the canals created by these illegal miners were not fortified. It was more riskier to venture underground during this rainy season, especially given the geological condition of the mining location.
However, the majority of the miners were strangers, and a few community members were unaware of the dangers. It’s still unclear how it all went down. The catastrophe has already left its mark on the survivors.
In a joint operation by the National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO) and the Police, the dead bodies were moved to the local morgue for processing while investigations are conducted into the accident. A resident of the community, Kwame Bukro said the pit caved in at midday on Thursday but for the lack of logistics the owner of the site couldn’t initiate the rescue process.
The miners were all trapped for hours and with time some passed out due to suffocation. Others were also crushed by the debris and earth. It is said that the mining pit has been operating illegally without any safety measures. Some rituals are expected to be performed for those who lost their lives in the pit lest it would become haunted.
According to reports, this is not the first time a mining pit has caved in on people. It is expected that the owner of the concession would be invited for interrogation by the Police.
