By Regina Benneh, GNA
Tontokrom, (Ahafo) March 3, GNA-Police in Ahafo have confirmed the death of nine illegal miners in connection with the collapse of an illegal mining pit at Tontokrom, a community in the Asutifi South District of the region.
According to Chief Inspector Kwadwo Boakye, the Ahafo Regional Public Relations of the police Administration, the heartbreaking incident happened Saturday, February 28, 2026 with four others sustaining various degrees of injuries.
Speaking to the Ghana News Agency (GNA) in a telephone interview, Chief Inspector Boakye said the injured were presently receiving treatment at the Hiwdiem St. Elizabeth Catholic Hospital in the district.
He said the bodies of six of the deceased had since been deposited at the hospital’s morgue for preservation, while three of them being Muslims had been released to their families for burial in accordance with Islam.
The deceased comprise Issaka Iddrisu 22, Salam Kobori 52, Nana Tuffuor 30, Appiah Tuluso 25, Seidu Mohammed 21, Kwabena Salifu 30, Yakunu Ibrahim 28, Akwasi Desmond 20, and Akoto Lartey 30 years.
Chief Inspector Boakye said they were prospecting for gold underground when the illegal mining pit collapsed and trapped them at a cocoa farm near the ‘Atta ne Atta’ village, saying that the police were investigating the incident.
He added that rescue operations were ongoing, with emergency responders and local volunteers assessing the full scope of the tragedy and advised the youth in the area to stay away from illegal mining activities, worrying that the menace was claiming a lot of precious lives.
GNA
Edited by Dennis Peprah/George-Ramsey Benamba