Ashanti Region: Two “illegal” teenage miners die in River Offin
Derrick Baah, 17, and Atta Panin, 18, reportedly dived into the river in an attempt to escape from forestry officials chasing illegal miners
The bodies of two teenagers have been retrieved from the River Offin which runs through Anwiafutu near Nyinahin in the Atwima Mponua District of the Ashanti Region.
Local divers on a rescue mission found the bodies on Tuesday (31 January).
Derrick Baah, 17, and Atta Panin, 18, reportedly dived into the river in an attempt to escape from forestry officials chasing illegal miners from the Apenkra forest on that fateful day.
They were among at least six others who had gone to illegally mine at the enclave, destroying some trees planted by the Forestry Commission to restore degraded vegetative cover, officials told Asaase News.
The forest guards managed to arrest one of the illegal miners. Locals are already agitating, accusing the personnel of injustice.
“Since there are some gold deposits here the youth come here to dig,” a resident told Asaase News. “They gather the leftovers and wash them.”
“Yesterday, the forest guards came after them and two attempted to dive into the water to escape. We hear the two were pelted with stones by the guards while they were in the river, so the retrieved bodies had cuts on them,” he alleged.
The assemblyman for the area Akwasi Osei Adu said officials including the police are working to maintain calm in the community.
“I am engaging the agitated youth and then meet the entire community,” Osei Adu said. “We also want to meet the district manager at the Forestry Commission over this issue. For now, the bodies have been deposited at the morgue while police investigate the matter.”
The police are yet to officially comment on the incident.
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