The cause of the incident, which killed eight and is among the country’s worst in a decade, is not immediately known
A military helicopter went down in Ghana on Wednesday, killing all eight people on board, including two senior government ministers.
Defense Minister Edward Omane Boamah and Environment Minister Ibrahim Murtala Muhammed were among the victims. Also among the dead were Samuel Sarpong, the vice chair of the ruling National Democratic Congress; National Security Adviser Muniru Mohammed; and four crew members, according to the Ghana Armed Forces.
Officials described the crash as one of the most serious air tragedies in Ghana in over ten years. According to the Ghanaian military, the helicopter departed from Accra in the morning and was en route to the gold-mining town of Obuasi in the Ashanti region when it lost contact with radar. Its remains were later discovered in the Adansi area of Ashanti.
The military said it launched an investigation into the crash.
President John Dramani Mahama declared a period of national mourning and ordered flags to be flown at half-mast. Chief of Staff Julius Debrah said in a televised statement that “the entire nation is in shock and mourning.”
The Z-9 helicopter involved in the crash is a Chinese-made aircraft based on the French Dauphin design. It is commonly used by Ghana’s military for transport and patrol missions.
Images shared on social media appear to show burning wreckage in a wooded area at the crash site.
In May 2014, a service helicopter went down off the coast of Ghana, resulting in the deaths of at least three people. Two years earlier, in 2012, a cargo plane overshot the runway at Accra’s airport and collided with a passenger bus, leaving at least ten people dead.
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