UPDATE: Police abandon search for trapped illegal miners

The Police have abandoned a search and rescue mission barely 24 hours after some 35 illegal miners were trapped in a mine pit at Bonsawire near Asuoso in the Western Region.

Local residents say the police team that was dispatched to the venue of the tragic incident did not even spend an hour at the scene after interacting with some other miners who witnessed the event.

“When they (Police) came, the ‘Budos’ met them and after interacting with them for some time, they left. Meanwhile, there are some people still trapped in the pit. There is the fear that if the ‘Budos’ had told them about those still trapped in the pit, they would have declared the place a no go area,” said one miner who wants to remain anonymous.

In the ‘galamsey’ world, ‘Budos’ serve as a link between the miners and security operatives. They serve as guards and are mostly rewarded with some of the stones in which the gold is found.

Our sources say activities in and around the collapsed pit are ongoing with some relatives of those trapped still wailing and crying for help.

“They are still working. They don’t care whether you have been trapped or not. All that they know is that work must go on. But honestly, the way the collapsed pit is, it will be very difficult to dig and look for survivors. It will also be extremely difficult to send bulldozers and excavators to the forest to assist in the rescue mission. So, to us, that is the end of those trapped in the pit.”

Sources say two days to the incident, news went viral in the town and surrounding communities that the pit which has now been collapsed was very rich in minerals.

The locals believe the mad rush for the precious mineral was the course of the collapsed mine pit that happened around 4:30am on Monday.

Two persons have so far been rescued by the local folks with 33 others believed to be trapped in the mine pit.

Of the two, one is confirmed dead and the other seriously injured.