Two journalists accompanying the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on an anti-illegal mining mission are critically injured after an attacked by a group of galamseyers.
According to reports, the incident happened near Obuasi after the team was attacked by a group of miners at Dadwene, a community near Obuasi.
The EPA officers and journalists, under pressure, retreated for safety.
Reports suggest that as the EPA team made their way through Afari, the situation worsened when one of the vehicles was involved in an accident.
Several were injured, including two journalists in critical condition following the crash.
Ibrahim Abubakar, the Ashanti Regional Correspondent for Media General, and another reporter from Adom News were caught up in the incident.
Speaking in an interview on TV3 on November 6, 2025, the CEO of EPA, Prof Klutse, explained, “We saw some heavily built men, many of them approaching with guns. We had military personnel and national security officers with us, but we realised we couldn’t exchange fire, so we had to run for our lives”.
“In the course of fleeing, while speeding on the road, one of our vehicles, which had some EPA staff and journalists on board, collided head-on with a truck that was carrying pipes believed to be used for the galamsey operations,” Prof. Klutse recounted.
“We thank God that everyone is alive. Unfortunately, some sustained injuries. The most critical case involves a Joy TV cameraman who suffered a broken thigh. Your correspondent, Abubakar, had chest pains but is responding well to treatment.
“Adom TV correspondent Joseph sustained a head injury and is also responding to treatment. Some EPA staff members were also injured in the accident, and we have spoken with the doctors and nurses in charge to ensure they receive special attention,” she added.
In related news, the Chief Executive Officer of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Nana Ama Browne Klutse, has led her team to shut down five Chinese warehouses dealing in changfan production.
The information gathered suggests the warehouses were shut down at the Anwia Nkwanta in the Ashanti Region.
According to the EPA, the warehouses, which were registered as spare parts storage facilities, were discovered to contain hundreds of changfan machines..
Professor Klutse, speaking in an interview, revealed, the operation forms part of the EPA’s broader strategy to curb the devastating effects on Ghana’s water bodies, forests, and farmlands caused by galamsey.
The Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) moves follow the announcement of the ban on the manufacturing, importation, sale, and use of “Changfan” machines.
According to the EPA, their decision stems from severe environmental destruction caused by illegal miners.
The EPA, in a statement, announced that the fabrication of Chanfan machines is being carried out without the necessary environmental permits.
They highlighted that while the fabrication and sale of the machines have provided income for some individuals, the destruction caused by illegal miners has led to widespread pollution of water bodies.
Part of the EPA statement read, “In exercise of the powers conferred on the Environmental Protection Authority under sections 3(2)(b) and 35 of the Environmental Protection Act, 2025 (Act 1124)… the following directive is hereby issued.
The directive prohibits the fabrication, importation, and use of Chanfan machines without an EPA permit. It further warns that “any workshops or shops found producing or selling these machines will be shut down, and all existing equipment will be seized and dismantled.”
The EPA, in their statement, ordered individuals, workshops, and establishments that deal in Chanfan machines to cease operations immediately.