Man drowns in abandoned galamsey pit at Wamanafo

A man believed to be in his 40s has drowned in an abandoned galamsey pit at Wamanafo near Wamfie in the Dormaa East District of the Brong-Ahafo region.

The police with the help of some community members retrieved the lifeless body of the yet to be identified body last Friday, April 4, at about 6:20 pm after a community member spotted the dead body floating on the surface of the abandoned deep galamsey pit filled with water.

At the time of the discovery, the body was decomposing.

Police have begun investigations into the incident and said there was no immediate evidence of what the man was doing around the pit. It was also yet to determine how long the body had been in the pit.

Police briefing

The Brong-Ahafo Regional Police Public Relations Officer (PRO) Chief Inspector Augustine Kingsley Oppong who disclosed the incident to the Graphic Online said, the body bore no assault marks.

According to him, the Police had information that an unidentified body had been spotted floating on an abandoned galamsey pit filled with water at Wamanafo.

Chief Inspector Oppong said when the police reached the scene, they found the lifeless unidentified and highly decomposed body floating on the abandoned galamsey pit. The police however could not convey the body as a result of the decomposing state, poor visibility and slippery nature of the pit.

The police, together with a medical team, personnel from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and traditional leaders revisited the scene the following day (Saturday, April 5, 2018), to retrieve the body.

He said the body had since not been identified despite efforts by the police and the traditional authorities to find the family of the deceased and called on the public to assist in the identification of the deceased and his family.