The rescued miners
MIRACLE OCCURRED when 10 male miners, who had been trapped in a deep mining pit at Konongo in the Ashanti Region for close to three days, somehow survived.
The trapped miners were said to be digging the ground and searching for gold within the concession of Northern Mines Limited at Konongo in the Asante Akyem Central Municipality.
In the course of searching for the precious metal on Wednesday, calamity suddenly struck as the pit caved in and trapped the miners, who were covered by huge debris.
News of 10 miners being trapped in a deep mining pit, reportedly travelled like wild fire in Konongo and the nearby communities, attracting curious people to the scene.
Eyewitnesses said a rescue team, which was made up of National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO) officers and others, immediately started to pull the debris to save the miners.
The search for the trapped miners proved futile on Wednesday and Thursday, as they could not be brought to safety, increasing fears of death.
But after three days of digging and searching, the hard work of the rescue team proved successful as all the 10 trapped miners were eventually retrieved alive and sent to hospital.
Joseph Lanbon, the Asante-Akyem Central Director of NADMO, said the rescue operation was difficult due to the depth of the pit.
According to him, the rescuers also didn’t give up from Wednesday to Friday, because they could hear the trapped miners talking from the collapsed pit.
Mr. Lanbon, who was happy after the trapped miners were successfully rescued, said the victims were rushed to the hospital, where they are all responding to treatment.
FROM I.F. Joe Awuah, Kumasi