Nine miners trapped in a pit at the Gbane mining area of the Talensi District of the Upper East Region have died.
The bodies were retrieved two days after a rescue mission by a joint security team together with officials of the National Disaster Management Organization, (NADMO).
Police say the deceased were miners trapped in a pit at the Moabok mining site following a downpour on the night of Monday, May 31, 2021.
” The rescue mission started two days ago, but yesterday [Wednesday], we were able to retrieve nine of the miners who were trapped after the heavy rains. With the retrieval of the bodies, the police are able to confirm that they have died. The Municipal medical office came in to examine the bodies, and he pronounced them dead” Upper East Regional Police Public Relations Officer (PRO), ASP David Fianko-Okyere said.
He added that the search is still ongoing and that the police have assured of maximum security in the mining area.
“We are doing everything possible to ensure that we exhaust all means that there is no other person is still trapped dead or alive”.
In the meantime, the police say no arrest has been made.
This is not the first time, a pit in the area has caved in killing miners.
In March 2020, an illegal mining pit at Yamsok a suburb of Yameriga also in the Talensi District killed one person and injured another.
The deceased Pii-Naab Joel, age 20 and a native of Yamsok was mining in an illegal mining pit with his colleagues when the pit caved in.
Other collapsed mining pits
This is not the first time a mining pit had caved on miners in Ghana.
In November 2020, an illegal small-scale mining pit in the outskirts of Ayanfuri in the Central Region collapsed and trapped eight persons between the ages of 24 and 35 years.
The illegal miners were rescued by residents and rushed to the Dunkwa on Offin Government Hospital where they were pronounced dead on arrival.
A similar situation was recorded in October 2020, where five persons died when they were trapped in a mining pit at Ayamfuri in the Upper Denkyira West District of the Central region.
15 others who were also trapped in the cave sustained varied injuries after the incident.
Obuasi: One feared dead after Anglogold Ashanti mining pit caved in
One person died recently after an underground mining pit which is part of the concession of Anglogold Ashanti Obuasi Mine, caved in and trapped some workers.
The incident reportedly occurred on Monday, May 17, 2021.
According to the mining workers who spoke to Citi News on condition of anonymity, four persons working for Underground Mining Alliance, UMA, a company contracted by Anglogold Ashanti Obuasi mine, were trapped underground.
