Edward Boamah, Ghana’s minister of defence, and Ibrahim Mohammed, the minister of environment, were among eight people confirmed dead after a military helicopter crashed in the country’s southern Ashanti region on Wednesday.
The crash involved a Z-9 helicopter belonging to the Ghana Armed Forces, which lost contact during a flight from Accra, the capital, to Obuasi, a gold-mining town in the south of the country.
The aircraft was carrying five passengers and three crew members when it went down.
Confirmation of the crash and the casualties came in a statement from Julius Debrah, chief of staff to President John Mahama, who said flags across the country would fly at half-mast to honour the memory of the victims.
“The president and government extend our condolences and sympathies to the families of our comrades and the servicemen who died in service to the country,” the statement read.
While the cause of the crash remains unknown, authorities said investigations are underway. Rescue teams were deployed to the site shortly after the helicopter was reported missing.
