Two young girls have been reported dead after falling into a galamsey pit in Sanfo-Aduam in the Ashanti Region’s Bekwai Municipality.

The two, named Alicia and Anita Asare, are all 13-year-old students at Sanfo-Aduam SDA elementary school.

They were alleged to have been stuck under the pit for hours before being rescued by members of the neighbourhood.

According to eyewitnesses, the victims drowned in the pit while swimming in a river surrounded by galamsey pits with their companions who had gone on a swimming expedition.

The two teenagers were laid to rest on Tuesday, May 2, 2023, amid community mourning.

Joseph Owusu, Assemblyman for Sanfo-Aduam, verified this in a statement describing the incident as painful.

He lamented that the activities of illegal miners have destroyed the water body in the area.

He said the miners failed to cover the pits and that is something he had complained about.

“The children got stuck in one of the abandoned pits in the area. Their death was painful. They are currently not mining at the moment. But they have abandoned the pit without covering it. That was what caused the death of the two minors.”