A section of the Shanxii Mining Ltd yard
Daily Guide has gathered from the Upper East Regional Hospital that five miners have been confirmed dead in the Gbane community in the Talensi district of the Upper East Region following a mining accident that occured underground, while working in a mining pit on the dawn of Friday, April 7, 2017. This number is contrary to the 7 deaths earlier reported in the media.
Initially 11 Small Scale Miners were trapped underground when they went down to work in a pit belonging to one Kwasi Appiah, according local reports.
It has been alleged that, while the Miners were working underground a smoke emerged from one of the shafts of the Shanxii Mining Ltd, which trapped them underground and subsequently led to the death of the deceased.
The 11 Miners were rescused alive and were all rushed to the Regional Hospital in Bolgatanga, where two died on arrival at the Out Patients Department (OPD). The remaining 9 were admitted and another one died at the Emergency ward while they were on admission at the hospital, bringing the death toll at the Bolgatanga Hospital to 3 on Friday and those on admssion to 8.
Two out of the 8 on admission at the Regional Hospital in Bolgatanga were treated and discharged, leaving 6 on admission.
The conditions of five out of the 6 small scale miners were decleared critical and had to be Transferred to the Tamale
Teaching Hospital and on the way to Tamale another on died, and four survived through the 2-hour journey from Bolgatanga to Tamale and were now on admission at the Tamale Teaching Hospital even at the time of filing this report. The remaining one at the Regional Hospital in Bolgatanga, also died later.
Preliminary diagnosis of the 11 miners revealed a conditions known as Asphyxiation, a condidtion which occures as a results of one’s inability to breath in enough Oxygen leading to suffocation.
The Public Relation Officer for Shanxii Mining Ltd, Maxwell Wooma debunked the allegation that the miners got trapped as a result of smoke from a Shanxii Mining Ltd shaft. He said the Company cannot be held responsible for death of the five nor the trapping of all the 11 miners trapped.
According to him, the Blast-men of Shanxii Mining went underground on Thursday evening and blasted the rock and even after the blasting, Miner of the Company went underground to clear the debrise from the blasted pit.
“How come our people did not inhale this smoke they are talking about. The Police will have to investigate this matter and see what really happened.”
The Upper East Regional Police Commander, DCOP Redeemer Vincent Dadjoe did not want to talk about the issue untill investigations are over.
Ebo Bruce-Quansah, Gbane