Mining Pit Swallows Two Women

THE HANKERING of two women to make money through illegal mining has resulted in their unexpected deaths in the Ashanti region.

Twenty-six-year-old Obaa Yaa and Yaa Nyarkowaa (25) were buried alive whilst they were searching for gold.

The two women, who defied government’s ban on illegal mining, died instantly when a mining pit caved in on them.

Obaa Yaa and Nyarkowaa were said to have descended deep into the pit but were trapped after the abandoned pit collapsed.

The incident happened at Aniamoah, a farming community near Nyinahin, in the Atwima Mponua District of Ashanti region on Saturday.

Briefing newsmen about the incident, Kwabena Nsenkyire, Ashanti Regional National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO) Coordinator, said the pit had been abandoned by its users, following the nationwide ban on illegal mining.

He disclosed that even though there were other people at the scene, the two women were the first to enter the pit. Unfortunately, the pit collapsed on them immediately they started mining.

According to him, the others fled from the scene after the pit caved in.

Nsenkyire said NADMO was informed about the disaster, adding that it took his men up to Sunday evening to retrieve the bodies, which had since been deposited at the morgue for autopsy.

By: Kwadwo Essel