A incident at a illegal mining site in Nyameadom, located in the Ashanti Region, has left one woman dead and seven others injured after a member of a local security team opened fire.
The women were reportedly working in the mining pit when the security guard, employed to protect the site, fired a shot in an attempt to disperse them.
Sources indicate that the guard, while aiming to issue a warning shot, inadvertently shot into the pit, resulting in the fatality and injuries.
Outraged by the shooting, residents of the town reacted by setting fire to an excavator belonging to the illegal miners operating the site.
Of the seven injured, two have been transferred to the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital in Kumasi for advanced medical care, while the remaining five are receiving treatment at the Mankranso Government Hospital.
The mining site is reportedly owned by Chinese nationals, who have hired local Ghanaian guards to secure the area. The women are said to have entered the pit believing that the Chinese miners were vacating the area, hoping to collect leftover material to process for any remaining gold.
The situation escalated when the Ghanaian security personnel attempted to remove them from the pit, leading to the unfortunate shooting incident involving a pump-action gun. Local authorities are currently investigating the matter.
Source: www.kumasimail.com
