A 19-year-old girl has drowned in an abandoned pit at Opeikuma in the Awutu Senya East Municipality, throwing the town into a state of mourning.
According to a witness, last Monday evening around 1600 hrs during rainfall at Kasoa, the deceased, who was with her other siblings, left them to swim in the water, which swept her into an abandoned pit left by Atiwa Stone Quarry in 2019.
So far, two people have died, while three have been rescued from the pit since it was abandoned.
Other eyewitnesses who pleaded anonymity said traditional leaders in the area were later informed of the drowning incident, and after a search, the girl was discovered in the pit.
The source said a young man from Swedru who came to work there died exactly a year ago, adding that before that, the operations of the quarry had caused a series of problems for the community, including damage to roofs, windows, and household appliances.
They appealed to the authorities to press the company to cover the pit to avoid unforeseen circumstances.
The grieving father of the deceased, Bashiru Abubakar, however, declined to speak to the media.
Meanwhile, the company denied any wrongdoing in an interview, saying that they acquired the land, including a buffer zone, from the traditional authority. Still, the chiefs later sold portions of the demarcated area as a buffer zone to developers, and that resulted in the tragedies.
The manager for Atiwa Stone Quarry, Mr. Alphonse Mensah, told journalists the company had issued several warnings to community members not to trespass in the area, but all had fallen on deaf ears.
Chief of the Area, Nana Opei Mensah, shared his side of the story and stressed that the company extended its territory beyond the boundaries.
