Seven illegal miners allegedly carrying rifles and other weapons died after they breached a gold mine security fence and engaged in a shootout with the country’s military in the Ashanti region.
However, Local chairman of the Ghana National Association of Small Scale Miners, Kofi Adams, said on Sunday nine unarmed people had been killed at an AngloGold Ashanti mine on Saturday night. He added that 14 severely injured in the incident at the Obuasi gold mining site in the West African country’s Ashanti Region.
Adams said it is unprecedented and difficult to understand why it happened, noting that in the past, trespassers on the site had been scared off with warning shots.
Meanwhile, describing it as tragic, the presidency said in a statement on Sunday that Ghana’s President John Mahama has ordered an immediate investigation into the incident.
According to the statement, the government has asked AngloGold Ashanti to cover the medical expenses of the injured and the cost of burials.
