One of the illegal miners who have been trapped under a pit at Aweam in Obuasi, Nana Yaw, has accused AngloGold Ashanti of intentionally covering pit to kill them .
According to him, they (miners) were mining on part of AngloGold Ashanti concession when the owners covered the pit.
It was reported that over 300 illegal miners had been trapped under AngloGold Ashanti concession at Aweam in Obuasi.
According to reports, the victims have been trapped under the pit for about five days without food or water and no one has come to rescue them.
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Speaking on Atinka 104.7 FM’s AM Drive with Kaakyire Ofori Ayim, Nana Yaw who is still under the pit said that they went into the pit last Thursday while the last batch of miners went there on Saturday.
He said in 2012, AngloGold Ashanti gave the illegal miners part of their concession to mine. But later in 2015, they covered the mining pit.
He said in the same 2015, AngloGold Ashanti allowed them to go and mine at the same spot and then in 2016, closed that site.
Although the site was closed, Nana Yaw admitted that they went there illegally to mine because of ‘hunger’.
He explained that normally, before the AngloGold Ashanti closes any pit, they alert the miners so that they can come out but this time, they were hinted that on Monday, the pit would be closed, only for them to realise on Sunday that the pit had been covered.
He said some of his colleagues are already dead while the rest are crying for help .
“They have used an excavator to cover the entire area so that there is no way to escape.” Even at this point in our entrapment, they are unwilling to come and free us. Some of my colleagues are dead and lying on the floor, he said.
He said they knew the route to the site because they worked close to that site years ago.
Nana Yaw, who is still alive, is pleading with the government, especially the Municipal Chief Executive (MCE) or the District Chief Executive to help rescue the rest from the pit.
Meanwhile, he said they did not even get enough gold this time before the pit was covered, adding that they preferred to be rescued and arrested than to stay there and die.
Ghana| Atinkaonline.com| Porcia Oforiwaa Ofori
