Seven "galamseyers" trapped in a mining pit near Obuasi

General News of Thursday, July 18, 2019

Source: citinewsroom.com

2019-07-18

Rescue operations are underway in Akrokeri, in the northern Adansi district, in the Ashanti region, to save about seven people allegedly trapped in an illegal mining pit.

The mine collapsed on Thursday morning as the miners were looking for gold despite the ban on the act.

Obuasi Division Police Commander, DSP Martin Asenso, told Citi News that an excavator had been brought to the scene to search and locate the alleged victims.

Around 5 am local police learned that illegal miners had been trapped in the ground. We arrived at the scene, which is supposed to be a public toilet in the commune that collapsed, "he said.

He added that the police had still not found a corpse or found people alive in the pit, indicating that the allegations of people imprisoned underground could not be confirmed yet.

"We are not able to determine the number of people underground. We have an excavator digging since morning and we have not seen any dead bodies or people alive. We are still investigating but to date, no resident of the city has come to report the disappearance of a member of our family. As long as we have not dug enough, we will not be able to confirm that there is someone imprisoned underground, "he said.

Illegal mining is still rampant in many communities across the country, despite a war against this practice.

Cases of collapse of mining pits, however, are quite rare, although it is reported that such incidents, especially small illegal foreign minors, are hardly made public because they do not have close relatives for them. to occupy the subject.