Ghana’s Defence Minister Edward Omane Boamah and Environment, Science and Technology Minister Ibrahim Murtala Muhammed were among eight people killed Wednesday when a military helicopter crashed in the Ashanti region, the government announced.
The Z-9 helicopter lost radar contact while en route from Kumasi to inspect a development project, the Ghana Armed Forces said. Three other officials and three crew members also perished.
“The president and government extend our deepest condolences to the families of our comrades and servicemen who died in service to the country,” President John Mahama’s chief of staff, Julius Debrah, told reporters.
Search teams located the wreckage several hours after the aircraft disappeared. Investigators will examine weather conditions and maintenance records to determine the cause.
Omane Boamah, a former information minister, had overseen military logistics modernisation. Muhammed spearheaded environmental and renewable-energy initiatives. Their deaths mark Ghana’s first fatal military aviation accident in over a decade.
