Africa
Ghana’s Defence and Environment Ministers Killed in Tragic Helicopter Crash
Ghana’s ministers of defence and environment and six other people have died when a military helicopter crashed in the central Ashanti region.
Defence Minister Edward Omane Boamah and Environment, Science and Technology Minister Ibrahim Murtala Muhammed, 50, were killed in the crash, which Chief of Staff Julius Debrah described as a “national tragedy”.
The Z9 helicopter, carrying three crew and five passengers, came down in a dense forest as it was flying from the capital, Accra, to the town of Obuasi for an event to tackle illegal mining. There were no survivors.
The eight bodies have been retrieved from the wreckage and transported to Accra in coffins draped in the Ghanaian flag.
A solemn ceremony was held at the Air Force Base to receive them.
Plans to bury the Muslims among the deceased on Thursday have been postponed pending full identification of the bodies. The government has yet to announce the funeral arrangements.
What caused the crash?
The authorities have not confirmed the cause of the crash but the Ghanaian military said investigations had been launched.
Ghana’s meteorological agency had forecast unusually cold weather for August, with recent rains and light showers causing foggy conditions in many forest areas. Local farmers near the crash site reported morning fog as the helicopter flew overhead.
One eyewitness told the BBC the helicopter was flying at an “unusually low altitude” and the weather was bad.
He said he heard the sound of the helicopter passing by, followed by a “loud sound” and then a “bang”.
“That’s when I realised that the helicopter had exploded. So I hurried to the place to see if I could find survivors,” he said.
The farmer said when he got to the scene there was “no-one to be rescued”.
This is the most deadly of three separate emergency incidents involving Ghana Air Force helicopters in recent years.
In 2020, a Ghana Air Force Harbin Z-9 helicopter made an emergency landing near Tamale Airport, and last year, another Ghana Air Force helicopter made an emergency landing at Bonsukrom in Ghana’s Western Region.
Three days of national mourning
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