Three people have died after a mining pit collapsed on them at Odumase-Santenso in the Asante Akyem Central Municipality of the Ashanti Region.
According to the Caretaker Assembly Member for the area, who is also the Assembly Member for the Bomeriso Electoral Area, Isaac Kyei Andoh, the incident occurred around 4:00 p.m. on Friday, August 7, 2026.
He said community members alerted him after the pit caved in, prompting efforts to rescue those trapped inside.
The deceased have been identified as two women and a man, all aged between 21 and 25.
Mr Andoh said two of the deceased women were residents of Bomeriso.
He said he immediately informed the Municipal Chief Executive and efforts were made to deploy a backhoe to retrieve the bodies. However, the equipment was faulty.
According to him, a private backhoe was subsequently arranged, but by the time it arrived, residents had already excavated the collapsed pit and retrieved the bodies.
He said the bodies were recovered between 6:30 p.m. and 7:00 p.m. Necessary rites were performed at the scene before the bodies were conveyed to the mortuary.
Mr Andoh said the victims were engaged in “one-man” mining, an illegal small-scale mining activity in which individuals dig deep pits using makeshift equipment to extract gold.
“I got a call around 4 pm two days ago about the pit collapse. We mobilised a vehicle to release the bodies from the pit. The chiefs performed some rites before the three bodies were sent to the mortuary. The deceased include two women and a man, aged between 21 and 25 years. The pit caved in and killed them,” he said.
The incident has renewed concerns about the dangers associated with illegal mining and the loss of young lives in unregulated mining operations in the municipality.
