Two Ghana government ministers among 8 killed in helicopter crash

Ghana’s defense and environment ministers are among eight people killed after a military helicopter crashed in the southern Ashanti region on Wednesday, according to the chief of staff to the Ghanian president.

Defense Minister Edward Omane Boamah and Environment Minister Ibrahim Murtala Mohammed were among the five passengers on board the helicopter, as well as three crew members.

Ghana’s Armed Forces said earlier on Wednesday that it had lost contact with a Z9 helicopter that was en route from the capital of Accra to Obuasi, a mining town in southern Ghana.

Julius Debrah, the chief of staff, said in a video statement that the crash was a “national tragedy” and announced that flags will fly half mast until further notice.

He said that Alhaji Mohammed Muniru Limuna, Ghana’s acting deputy national security coordinator, Samuel Sarpong, the vice chairman of the National Democratic Congress and Samuel Aboagye, a former parliamentary candidate, were the three other passengers killed in the crash.

The helicopter’s crew were named as squadron leader Peter Bafemi Anala, flying officer Malin Twum-Ampadu and Sgt. Ernest Addo Mensah.