A 19-year-old man, Herod Cobbina, has tragically drowned in a galamsey pit at Sehwi Chiene, a farming community in the Bibiani Anhwiaso Bekwai Municipality of the Western North Region.
According to reports, Herod had accompanied some colleagues to an illegal mining site in the area when the incident occurred.
While details remain unclear, his lifeless body was later retrieved from the pit.
Speaking to Adom News, the father of the deceased, Nana Kwabena Nipa III, said he was on his farm when he received a distressing call informing him of the tragedy. He immediately rushed to the scene, only to be confronted with the devastating sight of his son’s body.
The heartbroken father expressed suspicions of foul play, citing inconsistencies in the accounts of how his son died.
He has appealed to the Bibiani Police to launch a full-scale investigation to uncover the truth and ensure that anyone found culpable is brought to justice.
The heartbreaking incident has reignited concerns over the dangers posed by abandoned and unregulated galamsey pits across the country, especially to the youth who are often lured into illegal mining due to economic hardship.