By Aaron Hammond 
Our hearts are very heavy today following a serious mining tragedy in the Ashanti Region. Reports just coming in indicate that three people have died after a mining pit collapsed at Odumase Santenso. The sad incident happened on Friday afternoon inside the Asante Akyem Central Municipality.
We all understand that times are hard and everyone wants to make some quick cash. However chasing gold in these unregulated holes is a very dangerous game of luck. The victims were just young folks aged between 21 and 25 years. They were carrying out what we locally call one man mining using basic hand tools.
According to Isaac Kyei Andoh who is the local assembly member the pit simply caved in on them. The community members quickly rushed to the site to rescue those trapped underground. They initially tried using a municipal excavator but unfortunately that equipment was completely faulty. They finally managed to arrange a private machine to assist the rescue effort.
By the time the private machine arrived the brave residents had already dug through the heavy soil. Sadly they brought out the lifeless bodies of two women and one man in the mining pit. The two young women actually lived in the nearby Bomeriso community. Traditional leaders quickly performed the necessary local rites before sending the bodies to the mortuary.
This whole situation reminds us logically that human safety must always come first. The local authorities really need to step up their game to regulate these small scale mining operations better. We cannot continue losing our strong youth to these preventable accidents while they search for their daily bread.
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