A labourer contracted to clear excess mud from a 60-foot borehole at Santasi Adjamasu in the Ashanti Region has died after falling into the shaft on Wednesday morning.

Eyewitnesses said the worker had been operating inside the deep, narrow borehole around 10 a.m. when he began struggling to breathe due to intense heat and poor ventilation.

He reportedly tried to climb out but lost strength, slipped, and fell to the bottom, sustaining a fatal head injury.

Residents immediately called for help, prompting a combined rescue effort involving community members and emergency responders.

Teams battled the depth and muddy conditions for nearly nine hours before retrieving the victim around 7 p.m., but he was pronounced dead upon extraction.

Police have visited the scene, and the body has been deposited at a morgue as investigations commence.