Three workers of Shanxi Mining Company reported dead

Bolgatanga, April 25, GNA - Three workers of Shanxi Mining Company are reported dead as a result of inhaling fumes from a toxic explosion.

The deceased are Baafi Thomas, Atia Ebenezer and Bazie Baprumine and their bodies had been deposited at the Bolgatanga Regional Hospital of the Upper East Region.

Speaking to the GNA in an interview on Friday, the Public Relations Officer (PRO) of the Company, Mr Maxwell Wooma, who described the incident as very sad, said it was the first of its kind to happen since the Company started operations in the area.

He said Management of the Company had information on Thursday morning that some of the workers who had gone underground for mining activities had been met with some challenges.

The PRO said based on the information, the Company acted swiftly and rescued 17 of the workers from underground and were rushed to the Bolgatanga Regional Hospital for treatment.

He said upon arrival two of them died and one also died on Friday morning whilst the rest were treated and discharged,

Mr Wooma said by the mining laws, the Company had reported the incident to the Inspectorate Division of the Mineral Commission, who had promised to conduct an investigation to establish the cause of the incident and if possible advice the Company.

The PRO said Management of the Company deeply regrets the incident and was currently going round sympathizing with the bereaved families and pledged that they would adopt pragmatic safety measures to curb such unfortunate incident in future.

Meanwhile when the GNA visited the Bolgatanga Regional Hospital, the authorities of the hospital confirmed the death of the three persons.

The Regional Director of the Environmental Protection Agency, Mr Asher Nkegbe, who blamed the accident on lack of proper safety measures, told the GNA that his outfit, in collaboration with the Mineral Commission, would step up its sensitization programmes on proper safety measures and environmental management issues for the bigger Mining and small scale mining Companies in the Region.

He said just last week, some of the Executive members of the Small Scale Mining Enterprises were sensitized on proper safety measures and good environmental practices and stressed that his outfit would extend such programmes to the bigger mining companies operating in the area.

The Shanxi Mining Company Limited, which had been operating at the Gbane community in the Talensi District of the Upper East Region for about four years now, had employed over 500 workers.

GNA