Nine people have been confirmed dead after a remote mining area of Gbane, Talensi district in Ghana collapsed. Police spokesman David Fianko-Okyere confirmed the report and said they suspect more bodies are trapped down. Rescue operations are continuing.
“Rescue operation are ongoing and we we’re doing everything possible to get them dead or alive,” said David Fianko-Okyere.
According to Yakubu Musah, an eyewitness, the mine caved in after rainwater flooded the pit. “There are about two or more different pits underground here with only one tunnel connecting as a passage to them. When you are down there it’s very difficult to tell what is happening out here, so I’m sure they had no idea it was even raining. I don’t think anyone survived.”
Frequent accidents
Accidents in small-scale gold mining, known locally as “galamsey”, are common in the West African nation. This latest incident occurred in the Upper East region near the border with Burkina Faso. Ghana’s President President Nana Akufo-Addo vowed a crackdown to curb its environmental damage.
Upper East Regional Minister Stephen Yakubu affirmed that the mine was a registered mine, not an illegal site. He suspected that the rains may have weakened the foundations of the pit and added that a committee would investigate the causes. Ghana is Africa’s second-largest gold producer and exports of the metal, along with other minerals and oil, drive the country’s economy.
