Two young men have been confirmed dead after a mining pit collapsed at Osino in the Fanteakwa South District of the Eastern Region.
According to sources from Channel One News, the fatalities occurred among a group of seven miners working in the pit around 2 a.m. on Wednesday, January 8, 2025, when the structure suddenly caved in, leaving them trapped.
Residents, alerted by the incident, quickly rushed to help with rescue operations. Three survivors were eventually pulled from the debris and taken to the Saviour Memorial Hospital in Osiem. Health officials at the hospital later verified that two of these miners had died. One of the survivors remains in critical condition and is undergoing treatment at the same facility.
A coordinated search effort, which involved the National Intelligence Bureau, various security agencies, and excavator operators, was launched to find additional victims. Despite the extensive search, no further survivors were found. The local police have faced criticism for not effectively curbing the illegal mining activities in the area, fueling renewed calls for stricter enforcement to prevent similar tragedies in the future.
The bodies of the deceased miners have been transferred to the Kyebi Government Hospital in the Abuakwa South Municipality, where autopsies will be conducted and their remains preserved.
Meanwhile, community leaders in Osino are voicing deep concerns over the ongoing illegal mining practices, particularly along the Accra-Kumasi Highway. They decry the dangerous trend of miners working relentlessly around the clock, often in perilous locations such as roadways and beneath power pylons owned by the Electricity Company of Ghana.
