One woman has been reported dead after a member of a local security group guarding a 'galamsey' site opened fire into a mining pit at Nyameadom in the Ashanti Region.

Seven others have also sustained gunshot wounds.

Sources say the women were working in the galamsey pit when the incident occurred.

Reports indicate that the guard, in an attempt to drive the women away from the pit, tried to fire a warning shot, which unfortunately went in the wrong direction.

In response, angry locals from the town reportedly set fire to an excavator belonging to the illegal miners.

Two of the injured have been referred to the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital, while five remain on admission at the Mankranso Government Hospital.

The galamsey site belongs to Chinese miners who have employed Ghanaians as security guards.

The women entered the pit because they believed the Chinese miners were leaving the area, and they hoped to collect leftovers to wash and find gold for themselves.

However, the Ghanaian security guards attempted to drive them out and fired a pump-action gun.