Seven illegal miners have been confirmed dead, and one remains trapped following a pit collapse at an abandoned site in Domi Keniago, within the Amansie South District of the Ashanti Region, on Thursday night.
Emergency responders, including the National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO) and local search teams, are working to retrieve the trapped miner.
The bodies of the seven deceased are being transported to St. Martin’s Hospital in Agroyesum for autopsy and preservation.
According to the NADMO, the victims were part of a 12-person group operating in the abandoned pit when it caved in, but four managed to escape.
NADMO identified those affected as Kwaku Dada, Akwasi Awudu, and Kwaku Badu, all from Keniago; Kwame from Kwabenaso; Awelo and Kofi Asaa from Oppong Valley; Kojo Buabeng from Abiram; and an individual known as ‘Chinchilla’.
Confirming the incident, the District Chief Executive (DCE) for Amansie South, Hon. Benjamin Marfo, said the district assembly received a distress call at approximately 10:00 PM.
”I received a call from Domi Keniago reporting that a mining pit had collapsed, trapping eight people,” Mr Marfo said, stating, “I immediately dispatched NADMO teams to the scene. So far, seven bodies have been retrieved, and search efforts are ongoing for the remaining person.”
Acknowledging the illegal nature of the site and the lack of safety oversight, Mr Marfo noted that recovery efforts remain the immediate priority before investigations begin into the owners of the pit.
”When digging a pit, technical knowledge is essential,” Mr Marfo stated, warning against unregulated mining: “What they were doing was illegal, but our priority right now is to manage the situation. Afterwards, we will investigate who created the pit and take necessary action.”
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