The Ghana Police Service has commenced investigations into the tragic drowning of a 43-year-old woman and her three children in an abandoned galamsey pit at Kwansin Baako, near Wassa Dunkwa, in the Western Region.
According to a press release issued by the Western Central Regional Command and signed by Assistant Superintendent of Police, Beatrice Turkson, Head of the Public Affairs Unit, the incident occurred on February 28, 2026.
The statement said Kwadwo Ayew reported to the Asankrangwa Police that at about 1:30 p.m. on the day of the incident, he received information that his brother’s wife, Mary Arthur, and her three children, Kwame Asabre, 13, Agya Atta, 11 and Eric Mensah, 11 had drowned in the water-filled mining pit.
Preliminary investigations indicate that the deceased woman, together with her children and a nephew, Bright Mensah, had gone to fetch firewood at a nearby cocoa farm at Wassa Dunkwa. After sending part of the firewood home, the family reportedly returned to collect the remainder.
Police say upon their return, the three boys removed their clothes and jumped into the abandoned pit to swim. Moments later, Bright Mensah noticed they were in distress and rushed to alert their mother.
In a desperate attempt to save her children, Mary Arthur reportedly entered the water but also got drowned.
The bodies of the deceased have been conveyed to the Roman Catholic Hospital, Asankrangwa Mortuary, for preservation and autopsy to assist ongoing investigations.
The Regional Police Command has urged parents and guardians to exercise strict supervision over children and caution them against swimming in abandoned mining pits, rivers and other unsafe water bodies. The Command assured the public that further updates will be communicated as investigations continue.
The tragedy has once again drawn attention to the dangers posed by uncovered and unregulated galamsey pits scattered across parts of the Western Region.
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