Police in the Assin North District of the Central Region have confirmed the death of one illegal miner and injury to three others after a galamsey pit collapsed at Subriso, near Aniakragya, a hotspot for illegal mining.
The victims who were working in the pit got trapped inside when it caved in, according to Superintendent Eric Yao Avudzivi, the Assin North District Police Commander.
All the victims were rushed to St Francis Xavier Hospital, but one was pronounced dead on arrival, and the body was deposited at the hospital’s morgue for preservation and autopsy.
He said efforts were underway to locate the deceased’s family and to identify the site’s owner.
Some residents told the Ghana News Agency the tragedy had reignited fears over laxity of safety standards and weak enforcement against galamsey in the Assin area.
They said illegal mining operations in the area were often led by foreign nationals, mainly from Liberia and Burkina Faso, some armed, with locals joining for daily wages.
Recalling prior incidents, they cited the November 23, 2025, drowning of a 35-year-old Burkinabè national, Alex Missiso Kudjo in the Pra River at Assin Breman near Kushea.
They said, also on April 2, 2025, a Central North Regional Police Anti-Galamsey Taskforce officer drowned in the Offin River during an operation at Domeabra near Assin Awisam.
In April 2024, two suspected miners died when their canoe capsized on the Pra River at Awisam in the Assin Fosu Municipality.
They lamented the deaths and environmental damage happening under the watch of some traditional and local authorities and asked for decisive action to curtail the menace.
