Challenging heights demands action on illegal mining after helicopter crash
By: Rebecca Okine
Challenging Heights is urging the government to fully implement the Responsible Cooperative Mining and Skills Development Program (rCOMSDEP) in memory of the eight individuals, who perished in the tragic military helicopter crash on August 6, 2025, in the Adansi Akrofuom District of the Ashanti Region.
Among them were Ministers Dr. Edward Omane Boamah and Dr. Ibrahim Murtala Mohammed.
The victims were en route to the launch of the anti-illegal mining initiative, and according to Challenging Heights, their passing must “serve as a stark reminder of the urgent need to take decisive action against illegal mining.”
The child rights organization emphasized that the impact of illegal mining extends beyond environmental damage to serious human rights violations.
“Children endure back-breaking work, handle toxic chemicals like mercury and cyanide without protection, and suffer from chronic respiratory illnesses, mercury poisoning, and long-term disabilities,” the group stated.
It noted that many of these children are denied education and “trapped in a cycle of poverty.”
Challenging Heights disclosed that just last week, in collaboration with the Ghana Police Service, it rescued 25 trafficked Nigerian girls forced into prostitution at a mining site in the Western Region. Earlier this year, eight illegal miners also died in a standoff with the military in Obuasi.
“The pollution of major rivers like the Pra, Ankobra, and Birim poses a serious threat to public health and risks a future of severe water scarcity and rising chronic diseases,” the statement emphasized.
The organization is calling for urgent enforcement actions, including the prosecution of child exploiters, strengthened social protection, medical and educational support for rescued children, and sustainable economic alternatives to illegal mining through rCOMSDEP.
“Let the memory of those we have regrettably lost be the fuel for intensified, unwavering action,” it urged.
