A team from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and accompanying journalists were involved in a serious road accident on Friday during an anti-illegal mining operation in the Obuasi enclave of the Ashanti Region.
According to reports, the EPA team—supported by security personnel—came under attack from a group of angry miners at Dadwene, a nearby community.
The confrontation forced both the officials and journalists to retreat for safety.
Eyewitnesses said the situation escalated as the convoy attempted to withdraw from the area. One of the vehicles reportedly veered off the road at Afari, resulting in several injuries. Two journalists were said to be in critical condition following the crash.
Among those involved was Ibrahim Abubakar, the Ashanti Regional Correspondent for Media General, who escaped without serious injuries.
Other media personnel included a reporter from Adom News, whose name has not yet been disclosed, and Channel One TV’s Ashanti Regional Correspondent, Doris Lonta.
A source close to the EPA operation described the accident ordeal as terrifying. “It was a frightening scene. The officers and journalists were under real threat before the accident happened,” the source said.
The anti-galamsey exercise forms part of the EPA’s intensified campaign to clamp down on illegal mining activities that continue to destroy water bodies and farmlands in the Ashanti Region and other parts of the country.
