Ghana: Over 30 ‘Illegal Miners’ Feared Dead In Pit Collapse

Over 30 illegal miners are feared dead at Banda Nkwanta at Bole in the Northern Region of Ghana after a mine pit in the Mole National Park in which they were working caved in on them Monday evening.

Six bodies have so far been retrieved from the pit in which they where prospecting for Gold.

 An eyewitness told www.ghnewsnow.com that three people who were pulled out alive died minutes they were removed from the pit.

He added that there were more than 30 people in the pit and could not confirm if they were dead or alive at the time he spoke to our reporter.

According to sources, wild life officials have been taking money from people and allowing them to mine in that part of the Mole National Park. The DCE for Bole, Mr. James Jaaga is said to have visited the place this morning with a team of experts to search for those trapped under the ruble. 

Rescue efforts by the National Disaster Management Organization (NADMO) and other security agencies are currently underway to retrieve the bodies of those still trapped under the rubble.

Such deaths are gradually becoming common in Ghana despite all efforts by government to control the activities of illegal mining known in Ghana as” Galamsey”.
President John Dramani Mahama last year inaugurated an anti-illegal mining task force across the ten regions of Ghana to check the activities of illegal miners, both locals and foreigners.
The task force includes all security agencies in Ghana such as the Ghana Police Service, the Ghana Armed Forces, the Ghana Immigration Service as well as the Minerals Commission and the Environmental Protection Agency. It is tasked with inspecting all the mining sites in Ghana. Its duties also includes arresting people mining illegally and confiscating their equipments.
Illegal mining however seems to be on the upsurge despite all the efforts by the President to combat the activities of illegal mining in the country.