Drone footage shows more than seven excavators digging near the town's airstrip and along the waterway four months after floods submerged parts of Samereboi.

Published 9 Nov 2026, 21:04 GMT

2 min read

Aerial view of Samereboi and the Tano River in the Western Region — Samereboi and the Tano River

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Illegal gold mining is again taking place near Samereboi's main airstrip and along the Tano River in the Western Region, four months after flooding submerged nearly half the town.

The return of excavators to the river's natural flow path has renewed fears of another disaster in the timber community, where Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) officials travelled in June to assess the flood devastation in the town.

Drone footage captured on Monday, November 9 by a JoyNews team led by journalist Erastus Asare Donkor showed multiple excavators operating along the banks of the Tano River and inside previously mined sites.

More than seven excavators were also filmed digging around Samereboi's main airstrip, leaving deep pits and gullies across sections of the landing area that are advancing toward the township and the river.

During the June 2026 floods, rising waters inundated almost half of Samereboi, submerging a community water pumping station run by timber company Samartex and prompting emergency relief support for displaced families.

While some residents blamed the flooding on the anger of river gods over unperformed annual rituals, a local expert fact-finding team concluded that illegal mining at Kyemiso had blocked a vital channel connecting the Tano and Samire rivers, forcing water back into the town.

During her June 30 visit to the disaster zone, EPA Chief Executive Officer Prof Nana Ama Browne Klutse linked the flooding to blocked and diverted waterways and said the agency was considering dredging and re-engineering the damaged channels.

The fresh operations, allegedly backed by influential individuals, come despite recent enforcement under Operation Water Shield along the Tano River by the National Anti-Illegal Mining Operations Secretariat (NAIMOS).

Residents are calling for urgent state intervention to clear the equipment and protect the Tano and Samire waterways before heavy rains trigger another flood.

Araba IncoomAraba Incoom writes on multiple topics with a vast knowledge across different sector. You can almost call me an AI, after all, my initials are Araba Incoom.

Galamsey resumes along Tano River and Samereboi airstrip months after floods

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