Two Miners Drown in Ghana

Information reaching DAILY GUIDE on Sunday indicates that tension is gradually mounting at Twifo-Praso in the Central Region over the death of two illegal miners in the area.


The bodies of the two, whose names were not immediately known, had been deposited at the Twifo-Praso Government Hospital morgue awaiting autopsy.

Briefing DAILY GUIDE, an eyewitness, Nana Kwame Mensah said they had information on Friday that four illegal miners who went to undertake their illegal mining activities at the riverside were chased by some police officers in the area.

In the course of the chase, according to him, two of the illegal miners fell into the river and drowned while the others managed to flee.

The source said some of the residents alleged they heard a gunshot when the illegal miners were being chased and therefore accused the police of shooting them.

Nana Kwame added that efforts by residents of the area to retrieve the bodies of the deceased miners proved futile until Sunday morning around 8:00am when their bodies were found.

He noted that the angry youth who retrieved the bodies earlier sent them to the police station around 8:30am and kept them there.

According to him, the youth prevented the police from sending the bodies to the morgue with an allegation that the police had killed the two deceased persons and should therefore chew their remains.

The source said it took the intervention of the Paramount Chief of Twifo, Obrempong Appiah Nuama II, the Deputy Regional Police Commander, Mr Agyeman and the District Chief Executive of the area (DCE), Bosman Osei Hyaiman to get the youth to allow the police to send the bodies to the morgue around 3:00pm.

The source hinted that the irate youth who were still aggrieved following the death of their friends, later went back to the police station around 4:00pm wearing red bands on their hands to besiege the police station.

Information gathered by DAILY GUIDE further indicated that some of the documents belonging to the police as well as other properties had been destroyed by the angry youth.

Police personnel at the station had to call for re-enforcement from the Regional Police Command to save the situation.

The Twifo-Praso District Police Commander, who agreed earlier to speak to this reporter on the matter, had his mobile phone switched off when the reporter called back.