Indigenes of Petransa in the Asante Akim Central municipality of the Ashanti Region have accused rescue workers of ferrying away trips of sand from the concession where four illegal miners were recently trapped in the belly of the earth.
Two of them died and two were rescued.
A combined team of military, police and National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO) officials have been on the concession digging to save any more survivors from the pit which collapsed on Sunday night.
The indigenes on Tuesday 25 July accused the rescue team of loading two KIA trucks with sand from the site for gold prospecting purposes instead of focusing on the rescue mission.
According to the indigenes, gold is easily obtained from such sand whenever people die in mining pits.
A local journalist, Akua Adepa Agyemang, who was at the Konongo Divisional Police headquarters, told ClassFMonline.com that the police had impounded the two KIA trucks and promised to investigate the claims by the indigenes.
Some indigenes also visited the site to carry some of the sand in polythene bags hoping they strike gold, too.
Meanwhile, the rescue team has ended its mission. The pit has been covered and security personnel stationed there to ward off illegal miners.
Source: Ghana/AccraFM.com
