The death toll from last night’s illegal mining pit collapse has been revised to nine, following new details from authorities. The incident occurred at Atta Ne Atta, a community in the Asutifi South District of the Ahafo Region, not Manso Tontokrom in the Ashanti Region as initially reported.
Hospital officials have explained that one of the bodies that was previously classified among the dead had nothing to do with the cave-in, reducing the number of verified deaths to nine. As of this morning, four injured miners were admitted to the St. Elizabeth Catholic Hospital in Hwidiem, where medical personnel report that they are responding favourably to treatment. An undisclosed number of miners are still believed to have been at the site at the time of the collapse. Rescue efforts and assessments are ongoing as authorities work to establish the full scope of the incident and the cause of the cave-in.
Atta Ne Atta falls within the constituency of Collins Dauda. The community has previously been in the spotlight following a confrontation involving the National Anti-Illegal Mining Operations Secretariat (NAIMOS). This most recent fatality highlights the ongoing dangers of illicit mining, or galamsey, and reignites worries about safety enforcement and regulatory supervision in mining communities.
