Wassa Amenfi East: Two illegal miners crushed to death at Wassa Adiembra

Correspondence from Western Region

Two illegal miners met their untimely death after a hill, very close to their mine site collapsed on them and severely injuring one other person.

The incident happened at Wassa Adiembra in the Amenfi East Municipality of the Western Region.

The mine site was a hilly area but part had been excavated to lower ground for easy accessibility in order to mine there.

The three illegal miners were on their routine galamsey expedition on Tuesday afternoon when the hill which had developed some cracks accidentally slipped on them killing two and injuring one severely.

The names of the deceased were given as Kofi China, 30 and Gyakut, 26. The injured victim's name was also given as Yenu Kwaw, 26.

According to eyewitnesses, the victims were under the rubble for over two hours before a backhoe was organised to the site to evacuate the debris in order to rescue them.

After digging for some few hours, Yenu Kwaw was rescued but had all his legs broken. He was rushed to the Wassa Akropong Government Hospital for treatment but was immediately transferred to Takyiman for further treatment.

However, the other two were found dead under the rubble. Kofi China, who is a Kusasi had one of his whole arms chopped off from the shoulder level.

Their mortal remains have been deposited at the Wassa Akropong Hospital morgue. The rescue exercise was supervised by the National Disaster Management Organization (NADMO) from the Wassa Amenfi East Municipality.

The Wassa Amenfi East Municipal Director of NADMO Nana Kumi advised galamseyers to be safety conscious in their bid to make a living through galamsey activities.

Even though the government has banned illegal mining in Ghana, galamsey activities in the area still continues.