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22 galamseyers given mass burial at collapsed pit site
The search and rescue team said that the bodies of the victims could not be retrieved.
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This was after the search and rescue team indicated that their bodies could not be retrieved.
The Deputy Lands and Natural Resources Minister Benito Owusu Bio said that the site had been closed down after religious rituals were performed for the victims.
“We have now decided to close the pit with the help of Golden Star Resources Limited who have provided equipment for that. A Catholic mass was held for the dead. Islamic and traditional prayers were also offered. All the customary rites have been performed and we assume they are all dead and we are sealing up the pit. We are piling rocks and debris on it to the extent that nobody can reach that part again,” Mr. Owusu Bio told Accra-based Citi FM.
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The miners got trapped in the mining pit after being trapped on Sunday following a heavy downpour.
Earlier reports indicated that 17 miners were trapped, but the Deputy Minister said: “the total number of victims we have now is 22 who we have identified by name and age. The 14 or 17 earlier quoted were understated”.
The disaster comes at a time when the government is fighting against illegal mining across the country.
READ ALSO: Rescue mission called off
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Mr. Owusu Bio is hopeful that this incident would bring an end to the galamsey menace.
Touching on illegal mining activities at Prestea-Nsuta, the Deputy Lands and Natural Resources Minister said: “this particular type of galamsey is very difficult to locate so we are appealing to the general public especially the people of Prestea and its environs to help us by actually locating where they are so that we can ask the military to flush them out.”
The Prestea District Police Command has, however, launched investigations into the incident.
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