A mining pit collapse at Asaman Tamfoe in the Atewa East District has claimed seven lives. The unfortunate incident, which occurred on Saturday, August 29, has also left four others still feared trapped underground.

This development comes at a time when the Ashanti Regional Minister, Dr Frank Amoakohene, has disclosed that at least 23 individuals, including 11 children, have died after falling into abandoned illegal mining pits.

Speaking at the commissioning of the new ultramodern office complex of the Minerals Commission in Kumasi on Monday, August 24, he stated that four people are still trapped underground, while 19 bodies have so far been retrieved from the pits.

According to him, most of the victims met their untimely deaths by falling into uncovered mining pits while using routes leading to their farms.

“Twenty-three lives have been lost only because they were on their way to their farms and fell into pits that were left uncovered by miners within the various areas. Only 19 have been recovered from the pits; the remaining four we have not been able to recover.

“Eleven of them are children whose future has been cut short because someone, in his quest for money, left a pit uncovered within some of these areas that lead to farmlands,” he added.

Ghana, in recent times, has recorded several deaths following the collapse of pits at illegal mining sites.

In April, a 42-year-old mother and her three children were confirmed dead after drowning in a water-filled galamsey pit at Wassa Dunkwa in the Amenfi West Municipality of the Western Region on Saturday, February 28.

The family of four had gone near the abandoned illegal mining site in search of firewood. The eldest child, aged 14, reportedly led his younger siblings into the water-filled pit.

The boys became trapped and were unable to escape. In an attempt to rescue her children, the 42-year-old mother also entered the pit but tragically drowned.

The bodies of the four family members have been deposited at the Catholic Hospital morgue. Abandoned illegal mining pits have claimed the lives of Ghanaians in recent times.

A galamsey pit collapse at Atta Ne Atta in Asutifi South has claimed the lives of nine individuals, with four others currently receiving treatment at St. Elizabeth Catholic Hospital in Hwidiem following the incident, which occurred on Monday, March 2.

Recently, a 20-year-old student, Evans Allotey, of Okomfo Anokye Senior High School (SHS), died after falling into an abandoned mining pit on Tuesday, February 17, 2026, at Manso Akwesiso, Amansie South District of the Ashanti Region.

The unfortunate incident reportedly occurred while he was attempting to flee military personnel who had visited the site to crack down on illegal mining activities. In reaction to the unfortunate incident, residents staged a protest to express their dissatisfaction.

In 2025, a pit collapse at an illegal mining site at Kasotie in the Atwima Mponua District of the Ashanti Region claimed the lives of seven illegal miners who were trapped underground.

The pit collapse, which occurred on Wednesday night, October 1, also left four injured, while several miners were trapped.For years, the country's efforts to nip the canker in the bud have not yielded the needed results. Among recent measures taken to protect water bodies from illegal miners is the deployment of the National Anti-Illegal Mining Operations Secretariat (NAIMOS).

The Secretariat includes the Ghana Armed Forces, the Ghana Police Service, the Ghana Immigration Service, the National Intelligence Bureau (NIB), the Narcotics Control Commission, and the National Security Secretariat.