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29.06.2010 Disaster

112 Miners Trapped In Galamsey Pit

By Daily Guide
Fiko a survivor of the incident that trapped 112 minersFiko a survivor of the incident that trapped 112 miners
29.06.2010 LISTEN

ABOUT 112 small-scale miners working at a mining pit owned by Adoboa Mining and Trading Enterprise at Akyempem-Breman in the Upper Denkyira East Municipal Assembly are believed to have been trapped underground after torrential rains hit the mining site and forced the pit to cave in.

The incident has sent shockwaves to the town, with people searching for their missing relatives.

The victims, who are between the ages of 17 and 35, including a pregnant woman, are feared dead after their entrapment on Sunday afternoon.

They were among the 136 workers engaged by the site owner, Abubakar Saddick, to prospect for gold in an abandoned mining pit near the Offin River.

Unconfirmed reports say 15 of the illegal miners, popularly known as 'galamsey' operators, managed to escape when onlookers raised an alarm.

Kojo Oheme, popularly called Fiko, told DAILY GUIDE he escaped death with two women whose names were not available at the time of filing this report.

The Municipal Chief Executive (MCE) for the area, Peter Ashia Jnr, said the Municipal Security Council (MUSEC) could not readily tell the number of persons trapped underground.

He however stated that interaction between the council and the leadership of the Small-Scale Miners' Association indicated that only 11 people got trapped after the tragic incident that has become the talk of town.

In his opinion, the figure 11 could not be relied upon, as it could not be verified. He added that he would like to meet the leadership of the miners and their agents, who were at the scene before the tragedy happened, to know the exact number of people missing.

According to Mr Ashia, the security council had engaged 23 volunteers, who would help the rescue team, consisting of the District Police Commander, the Municipal Fire Officer, Immigration Service personnel and a representative of the Minerals Commission, to recover the bodies.

“We haven't seen anything like this before. This is the most fatal disaster ever to have hit the Upper Denkyira East Municipal Assembly,” he said during a press briefing after visiting the accident scene.

He was accompanied by the Central Regional National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO) Coordinator, David Mensah and heads of the other security agencies in the municipality.

 The Municipal Police Commander, S.K. Buabeng, told journalists that the police, the Municipal Assembly, NADMO and other stakeholders met to devise strategies to retrieve the bodies.

He indicated the rescue effort would be tortuous because not only is the pit filled with water but also the location of the pit itself made it extremely difficult to access the place.

From Ernest Kofi Adu & Desmond Dapaah, Dunkwa-On-Offin

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