Five employees of the Tarkwa Community Mine at Akoon in the Tarkwa-Nsuaem Municipality of the Western Region have been reported dead.

They were said to be working in an underground restricted area within the mine when it collapsed on them, killing them instantly and injuring some four others.

The bodies of the deceased, which were earlier deposited at the Apinto Government Hospital morgue for autopsy and preservation, have since been released to their respective families for burial.

Two out of four others who sustained various degrees of injury and were receiving treatment at the Tarkwa Municipal Hospital have been discharged.

Mr Kwadwo Safo, the Media and Public Relations Manager, who revealed this to the Ghana News Agency (GNA) on Friday, said the incident occurred on Wednesday, September 13, at about 1248 hours.

Further information gathered by the GNA indicated that on that fateful day, the employees, who hailed from the Western and Upper East regions, with the assistance of four others, went to the sixth level of the mine, known as “Abease”, to work.

While mining, they noticed a strong pillar supporting the area contained a lot of gold and they decided to mine around it, which unfortunately collapsed on them, killing five on the spot and injuring four.

The police in Tarkwa were informed and they assisted in retrieving the bodies, while the injured were sent to the hospital for medical attention.