Mother, 3 children die in abandoned galamsey pit
The community of Kwansin Baako, near Wassa Dunkwa-Asankragwa, in the Amenfi West Municipality in the Western Region, has been hit by the devastating effects of illegal mining, also known as galamsey, after a mother and her three children drowned in an abandoned pit.
The three children, after helping their mother on the farm, were asked to fetch the remaining firewood for the house, but the children decided to swim in an abandoned galamsey pit on their way and drowned.
Their mother, upon hearing about the incident, rushed to the scene to save the situation, but also drowned.
The victims have been identified as Mary Arthur, 43, and her three children -- Kwame Asabre, 13; Agya Atta,11; and Eric Mensah, 11.
The Western-Central Regional Police Command of the Western Region said preliminary investigations indicated that the deceased mother, Mary Arthur, her three deceased children and a nephew were returning from the farm and decided to fetch firewood at a nearby cocoa farm at Wassa Dunkwa for use at home.
The head of the Public Relations Unit of the Western-Central Command, Beatrice Turkson, in a statement, said the incident occurred on February 28.
Ms Turkson explained that after carrying part of the firewood home to enable their mother to begin her domestic chores, the children were later instructed to return to where the remaining firewood had been kept and bring it home.
Devastating news
The police further said that upon returning to the farm, the three children removed their clothes and jumped into the pit filled with water to swim.
The police regional command spokesperson further said, shortly after entering the water-filled pit, the woman’s nephew, Bright Mensah, realised that the three children were distressed in the water and were unable to swim to safety.
“He then rushed back to inform the mother, but the mother’s efforts to rescue her children did not yield any good result as she also drowned in the process,” the police said.
Ms Turkson said the community, led by one Kwadwo Ayew, reported the matter to the Asankrangwa police the same day.
The bodies, she stated, had since been conveyed to the Roman Catholic Hospital at Asankrangwa for preservation and autopsy to assist in further investigations.
The Regional Police Command has urged parents and guardians to closely supervise their children and caution them against swimming in abandoned pits, rivers, and other unsafe water bodies.
