Ghana’s Defence Minister Edward Omane Boamah and Environment, Science and Technology Minister Ibrahim Murtala Muhammed were among eight people killed when a military helicopter crashed in the Ashanti region on Wednesday, the government said.
President John Mahama’s Chief of Staff, Julius Debrah, described the accident as a “national tragedy” at a news conference in Accra. “The president and government extend our deepest condolences to the families of our comrades and the servicemen who died in service to the country,” Debrah said.
The Ghana Armed Forces reported that radar contact was lost earlier in the day with a Z-9 helicopter carrying the two ministers, three other government officials and three air force crew members. The aircraft was flying from the regional capital of Kumasi to a development project site when it went down in a remote forested area.
Search teams, including military and local emergency responders, located the wreckage several hours after the helicopter disappeared from radar. Debrah said weather conditions at the time of the crash were being investigated, and a formal inquiry would be launched to determine the cause.
Omane Boamah, a former information minister, had been leading efforts to modernise Ghana’s military logistics, while Muhammed was overseeing environmental initiatives and renewable energy projects. Both were travelling to inspect infrastructure programmes funded by the central government.
This incident marks the first fatal crash involving Ghana’s military aviation in over a decade. Ghana’s air force operates a mixed fleet of Russian, Chinese and American helicopters, and officials said maintenance records for the Z-9 model were up to date. The inquiry’s findings are expected to inform future aviation safety protocols.