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12.03.2014 Tragedy

Galamsey Pit Swallows 5

By Daily Guide
Galamsey Pit Swallows 5
12.03.2014 LISTEN

CALAMITY befell another family of three at Akokonso community in the Amansie Central District of the Ashanti Region after a couple and their one-year-old baby girl were buried alive in a galamsey pit alongside two other persons on Monday evening.

Kwadwo Addai, 34, and his wife, Adwoa Anokye, 27, together with their daughter, Sera Anokyewaa, were trapped underground when the mining pit they were working in collapsed on them, drawing heavy deposited sand of about 300 feet into the pit and blocking the way out.

The abandoned pit, which was dug out by Chinese illegal miners, also swallowed Kwabena Atobra, 42, and Adwoa Konadu, 27, residents of the Akokonso community near the Oda River, according to the police.

The tragic incident happened around 3:00 pm at the mining site which harboured many flooded pits left uncovered by the illegal miners after government clamped down on their activities.

Although those who escaped death were able to call for help from the local community, there was no way of reaching the victims on time to save their lives.

ASP Prince Odon-Kodua, Jacobu District Police Commander, who confirmed the incident, told DAILY GUIDE the victims were among the seven local people who voluntarily went to the site to prospect for gold.

He said the unskilled 'miners' dug deep into the pit and caused the upper part of it to suspend with heavy deposited sand on top.

According to the police commander, the disaster was said to have been caused by the heaped sand, which resulted in an increase in weight of the suspended upper part of the pit, caving in suddenly.

Last year, a similar accident killed many illegal miners in Obuasi and areas in the Amansie Central District of Ashanti Region. Safety violations and lack of equipment have been factors in past mining accidents in the country.

ASP Odon-Kodua disclosed that the victims appeared to lack the needed mining skills and techniques for the job, hence the accident.

He warned members of local mining communities to use the tragic incident as a useful lesson, describing mining activities as dangerous for the 'unskilled' labourer.

The bodies of the affected victims were recovered deep into the night of Monday and were later deposited at the St. Peter's Hospital morgue at Jacobu.

The latest family disaster came shortly after a family of five at Ejisu was burnt to death in an early morning fire that gutted their home.

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From Ernest Kofi Adu, Kumasi

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