Three people have died after a mining pit collapsed on them at Odumase-Santenso in the Asante Akyem Central Municipality of the Ashanti Region.
The victims, two women and a man, were reportedly between 21 and 25 years old.
The incident happened at about 4:00 p.m. on Friday, August 7, 2026, according to reports.
Caretaker Assembly Member for the area and Assembly Member for the Bomeriso Electoral Area, Isaac Kyei Andoh, said residents alerted him shortly after the pit collapsed.
He said he informed the Municipal Chief Executive (MCE), after which arrangements were made to bring a backhoe to rescue the victims.
However, the equipment developed a fault and could not be used.
A private backhoe was later arranged, but residents had already managed to dig through the collapsed pit and recover the bodies by the time it arrived.
Mr Andoh said the bodies were retrieved between 6:30 p.m. and 7:00 p.m. Traditional rites were performed at the scene before the remains were taken to the mortuary.
He said the victims were involved in what is locally known as “one-man” mining, an illegal form of small-scale mining where individuals dig deep pits using basic equipment in search of gold.
“I got a call around 4 p.m. about the pit collapse. We mobilised a vehicle to release the bodies from the pit. The chiefs performed some rites before the three bodies were sent to the mortuary. The deceased include two women and a man, aged between 21 and 25 years. The pit caved in and killed them,” he said.
