Hopes fade for trapped illegal miners in Eastern Region

Efforts to find illegal miners said to have been trapped underground in a collapsed illegal mining (galamsey) site at Korley Teye ( Takorso site) in the Birim North District of the Eastern Region have not yielded results.

Rescue teams from the National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO) and the Ghana National Fire Service (GNFS) have been to the site trying to locate the said trapped persons but no contact had been made with them. Some of the local people said about 17 people were trapped in the collapsed illegal mine.

Deaths

Seven of the illegal miners were pulled out dead on Monday while three others who were injured were sent to the hospital for treatment. The Birim North Deputy NADMO Director, Douglas Adomako said on Tuesday that some people were denying that 10 people were trapped. The NADMO officials suspected that the trapped miners might have escaped through a back route.

Rescue efforts

He said the rescue teams were making frantic efforts in a bid to save the situation. “Police and Fire Service personnel were there yesterday but for now those said to have been trapped have not been rescued.

“If there is somebody down there then the person should not be alive,” Mr Adomako said.

Galamsey situation serious

The NADMO official described the galamsey situation in the district as terrible. “The galamsey going on here is terrible. The practice here is very dangerous, the youth are mostly doing galamsey,” he said.

Tunnels

Describing the scene of the collapsed site, he said the illegal miners have dug about 10 tunnels underground.
These are dangerous tunnels. “I think the galamsey issue must be tackled with all seriousness .”