WASSA DUNKWA, Western Region, A 42-year-old woman and her four children have died after drowning in an abandoned illegal mining pit at Wassa Dunkwa in the Amenfi West Municipality on Saturday afternoon.
The victims; a mother and her children, including the eldest aged 14, reportedly drowned in a water-filled pit left behind by illegal small-scale mining, popularly known as galamsey. The incident occurred when the family had gone to an area near the mining site to fetch firewood.
According to an eyewitness, residents in the community frequently visit the location to collect dried cocoa trees for firewood. After gathering the wood and placing it by the roadside, the children allegedly entered the abandoned pit to swim. 
The eyewitness said the children soon began struggling in the water. Their mother, upon noticing they were drowning, entered the pit in an attempt to rescue them. However, she was unable to save them and also drowned.
Officers from the Asankrangwa Divisional Command of the Ghana Police Service responded to the scene. The bodies were retrieved and conveyed to the Catholic Hospital in Asankragwa, where they have been deposited at the morgue pending autopsy. 
The tragedy has renewed concerns over the safety risks posed by uncovered and unregulated galamsey pits across mining communities in the Western Region.