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(Update): 7 dead, only 5 rescued alive, many remain trapped underground – Eyewitness in Birim North galamsey disaster
File photo: Illegal miners mostly engage in a very perilous enterprise, going down unsecured burrows in search of gold.
Only five miners out of suspected 30 who were trapped under an illegal mining pit that caved in on Monday at Korley Teye in the Birim North District of the Eastern Region have so far been rescued alive.
Seven of the miners died in the ordeal, with locals frantically trying with all manner of implements to rescue the others.
An eyewitness, Frank Owusu Amoah, who said he and others rushed to the scene upon hearing news of the disaster, told Adom News that the five were rushed to the hospital with injuries but many more remained trapped as darkness set in.
The accident is thought to have occurred at about 10am, while he and others arrived at about midday. As at 5:30pm, no official rescue effort had been established at the scene, with only the miners and other locals doing what they could at rescue efforts.
He alleged that calls to the Police, Fire Service and National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO) yielded no immediate results.
Frank Amoah also confirmed Adom News correspondent, Akwasi Dwamena’s earlier report that the illegal miners were ready to harm anyone attempting to take photographs at the scene because they did not want any attention drawn to the disaster.
Earlier on Monday, Akwasi Dwamena reported that the scene of the accident (Takorso site) at Korle Teye, is a busy galamsey site where many of the youth in the surrounding communities troop to each day to dig for gold.
At the time of Dwamena’s visit to the site, only two of the trapped miners had been rescued alive, with the lifeless bodies of the seven laid out in the open and covered with bushes.
While he was prevented from taking any photographs, he was also chased away.
Source: www.myjoyonline.com
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Swedru All Blacks back to winning ways, Roshan humble King Faisal
Sekondi Rospak FC made it eight wins in eight successive home games after three second-half goals from John Amoah, Joseph Ntow and Stephen Anthony Kofi. John Amoah opened the scoring in the 55th minute after a barren first half. Joseph Ntow added to the tally in the 56th minute before Stephen Anthony Kofi rounded things up in the 74th minute to give Rospak a 3-0 win over former Premier League side King Faisal.
Elsewhere at Swedru – leaders Swedru All Blacks humbled PAC Academy in an emphatic 2-0 win. Zayat Bubakari scored first for Swedru All Blacks in the 27th minute before Rudolf Junior Nana Kwasi Mensah made it 2-0 in the 34th minute. Swedru All Blacks are top of the table with 36 points – 4 points ahead of second placed Rospak FC.
Meanwhile, Former Premier League side Cape Coast Mysterious Dwarfs recorded their fourth successive home victory after beaten New Edubiase United 2-1 at the Robert Mensah Park. Enoch Odoom struck first for Cape Coast Mysterious Dwarfs in the 19th minute but Steven Asante equalized for New Edubiase United before halftime. After the interval, Godfred Eshun scored from distance in the 65th minute to help Cape Coast Mysterious Dwarfs secure all the points.
Here are the results in Zone Two
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Cervical Cancer alert: Avoid sex at early age
The Programmes Manager of Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs) of the Ghana Health Service (GHS), Dr Mary Efua Commeh, has advised young girls to avoid sex at an early age.
This, she explained, will give the cervix the opportunity to mature before they become sexually active.
“You need to delay what we call the first sexual intercourse as much as possible to give the cervix the opportunity to mature before the person becomes sexually active,” she said.
Dr Commeh stated this in an interview with The Spectator in Accra on Tuesday as a part of the Cervical Cancer awareness month.
According to her, cervical cancer was the second leading female cancer in Ghana with a total of about 3,072 cases annually, and out of that, 1,815 deaths are recorded, representing more than 50 per cent.
She indicated that “If young girls are going to be sexually active, then you need to talk to your parents about being vaccinated.”
She explained that vaccinating young girls against human papillomavirus (HPV) has been found to be a very effective way of preventing cervical cancer.
“There are countries that started HPV vaccination years ago and they are not seeing any cervical cancers now because they would have eliminated most of the high-risk HPVs in their women. So if the high-risk HPV is not there, then obviously the results on cervical cancers are going to go down,” she added.
Dr Commmey said the HPV vaccination is recommended for young girls aged nine to 14 years, adding that it had been found to be highly effective, not just for cervical cancers but for other HPV-related cancers, such as anal cancers, cancers of the vagina, genital warts, amongst others.
She further elaborated that the idea is to put up a barrier before the HPV comes in and that once a young female encounters it, she is already protected.
She also mentioned that for cervical cancers, the main cause is called HPV infection, saying generally, all sexually active women acquire HPV at some point in their lives.
However, the Programmes Manager of NCDs at the GHS mentioned that the body has a way of clearing the HPV, explaining that it is a natural mechanism that goes on, unfortunately, there are a few women whose HPV persists.
Moreover, she noted that the numbers for Cervical Cancer tend to be much higher because at times, clients would wait, and try all sorts of medications before they finally report to the health facility saying “we actually lose some women before they get to the hospitals with over 75 per cent of the cases coming in its third and fourth stages.”
Dr Commey, therefore, called for public awareness while ensuring the availability of information for prevention and control.
By Jemima Esinam Kuatsinu
