3 Die In 'Galamsey' Pit At Prestea

Galamsey operators in a pit

Galamsey operators in a pit
Three Illegal miners in the prestea huni-Valley district died after the pit in which they were working collapsed on them last Wednesday.

The three, who are yet to be identified, were believed to have died after they were trapped in the galamsey pit believed to contain some water.

The incident happened at Busichim in the Prestea-Huni-Vally district of the Western Region.

DAILY GUIDE gathered that it took the police several hours to retrieve the bodies of the three galamsey miners from the pit.

An eyewitness told DAILY GUIDE that when the three were not returning from the pit after several hours of being in it, their friends decided to check on them. It was then that they realised that the pit had caved in on them.

The eye witness added that with the help of members of the community and the police, the three bodies were retrieved and deposited at the Prestea Government Hospital morgue. Confirming the incident in an interview with journalists, the Prestea Huni-Valley District Police Crime Officer, ASP Emmanuel Nwinsori, indicated that galamsey operations at this time of the year were always dangerous.

He pointed out that at about 4pm on Wednesday, his outfit had information that a galamsey pit had caved in on some illegal miners in the area.

'So the police quickly moved to the place to help retrieve the bodies of the deceased persons', he added.

He disclosed that the bodies had since been deposited at the Prestea Hospital mortuary.

He regretted that the rate at which the youth of the area were being killed by galamsey pits was alarming.

He pointed out that the greatest challenge confronting the police in their attempt to curb the menace was the inability of the police to locate the galamsey site in the area.