A galamsey pit has caved in and killed three persons at Bonsawire in the Tarkwa Nsuem Municipality of the Western Region.
Three other illegal miners who got injured in the process are being treated at the Municipal Hospital.
The incident happened on Saturday, September 23, 2023.
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The assemblyman for the Tarkwa Nsuem area, James Kojo Yeboah, confirmed the incident.
“I tried to find out from an elder from the community what actually happened, he told me the site caved in on Saturday around 2:pm and some people were trapped and they tried to rescue those who were trapped with an excavator,” he said.
“By so doing, they had six people who were injured, and on the way to the hospital, three lost their lives and three were also sent to the Municipal hospital,” he added.
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Galamsey has become characteristic of Ghana, destroying farmlands, water bodies and claiming lives.
The alleged shooting incident happened at a site belonging to a Chinese illegal miner.
The security guard of the purported Chinese galamseyer was alleged to have fired the gun, which also led to the injury of two other residents.
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Information gathered indicated that River Disou remains one of the few water bodies in the Aowin municipality that has not been affected by galamsey activities, hence a clean water source for domestic use, irrigation, and other essential purposes in the region.
It is reported that the traditional leaders and chiefs of the surrounding towns came together and formed a voluntary task force dedicated to monitoring activities on the river.
The task force, acting on their commitment, discovered and seized some galamsey equipment set up on the banks of River Disou, deep within the forest.