Rescue operation in Prestea to retrieve trapped bodies from the galamsey pit collapse has been called off.
Six bodies have so far been retrieved within the last few days but according to the Deputy Lands and Natural Resources Minister, Benita Owusu-Bio rescue efforts cannot continue due to the weak nature of the pit.
Owusu-Bio told Starr Midday News that the pit will be covered, adding that nothing can be done to retrieve the bodies.
The rescue mission was led by a team from Golden Star Resources.
The galamsey pit collapsed on Monday at Abease, a farming community in Nsuta in the Prestea Huni-Valley district of the Western region.
The accident killed 17 illegal miners with their bodies trapped under the rubble. Five people managed to escape successfully.
Five of the trapped bodies have so far been identified by the rescue team but the team was unable to bring the bodies out due to the weak nature of the galamsey pit.
A Parent Alhassan Abubakar who lost three of his children in an interview with Empire FM’s Emmanuel Ohene Gyan appealed to authorities to cover the pit to allow them offer special prayers to his departed children.
