Dozens of illegal miners trapped underground in Ghana
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Transcript
00:00 Dozens of illegal miners are stuck underground in a gold mine in Ghana.
00:04 The group may have been down there for days but many are refusing to come out because
00:08 they fear that they'll be arrested.
00:10 Justice Baidu tells us more.
00:12 There are conflicting figures as to exactly how many people are currently in this mine.
00:19 Earlier reports from yesterday indicated that there could be as many as 300.
00:25 On Tuesday morning, 47 of them came out on their own and got arrested immediately.
00:32 Family members of these people in this mine say they have been left with no choice than
00:37 to head down illegally into these mines.
00:40 My husband is one of those down there in the mine.
00:46 This is the only thing people can do for a living in this town.
00:49 We have no education and have nowhere to go.
00:54 The mining company has abandoned the part of the mine they went into.
00:58 I've been trying to call my husband but I can't reach him.
01:01 They don't have food, they don't have water.
01:04 When they arrest them, they give them heavy fines.
01:06 So it's a dangerous job but what else can we do?
01:10 Are we supposed to go rob people with guns to survive?
01:15 The Ghanaian government has been struggling for years to contain illegal mining activities
01:20 with no success at all.
01:23 Known locally as Galamsey, many young people in several mining communities are forced into
01:28 this business because they say mining companies do not create enough job opportunities for
01:35 everyone.
01:36 This pit that currently has people trapped is run by Anglogold Ashanti, one of the largest
01:43 multinational mining firms that has operations here in Ghana and in South Africa.
01:50 The company released a statement Tuesday morning saying that the miners could come out if they
01:55 did want to using already existing tracks under these shafts.
02:01 The problem is that because they went into these mines illegally, many of them feared
02:06 they would be arrested if they do come out.
02:09 Now according to family members who have been in touch with them, they have run out of food