Ghana’s ministers of defence and atmosphere have died in a navy helicopter crash within the central Ashanti area, together with six different individuals, a authorities spokesperson says.
Defence Minister Edward Omane Boamah and Atmosphere, Science and Expertise Minister Ibrahim Murtala Muhammed, 50, have been killed within the crash, which Chief of Employees Julius Debrah described as a “nationwide tragedy”.
Earlier, the Ghana Armed Forces mentioned the Z9 helicopter, which was carrying three crew and 5 passengers, had gone “off the radar”.
It had taken off from the capital, Accra, at 09:12 native time (and GMT) and was heading to the city of Obuasi for an occasion to sort out unlawful mining.
The eight our bodies have been retrieved from the wreckage and have been transferred to the capital, Accra, in a navy aircraft, the Ghana Armed Forces mentioned.
Photos purportedly exhibiting the charred stays of the helicopter have been circulating on social media.
President John Dramani Mahama has suspended all his scheduled actions for the remainder of the week and declared three days of mourning ranging from Thursday, in line with a press release from his workplace.
The federal government, by way of the president’s chief of workers, directed the nation’s flags to fly at half-mast. He additionally prolonged condolences to “the servicemen who died in service to the nation,” on behalf of President Mahama and the federal government.
The authorities haven’t confirmed the reason for the crash. The Ghanaian navy mentioned investigations had been launched.
Ghana’s Deputy Nationwide Safety Coordinator and former Agriculture Minister Alhaji Muniru Mohammed was additionally among the many useless, together with Samuel Sarpong, Vice-Chairman of the governing Nationwide Democratic Congress get together.
The crew members have been named as Squadron Chief Peter Bafemi Anala, Flying Officer Manin Twum-Ampadu, and Sergeant Ernest Addo Mensah.
President Mahama was feeling “down, down emotionally”, Training Minister Haruna Iddrisu was cited as saying by information company AFP.
Boamah served underneath Mahama’s earlier authorities as communications minister and earlier than that he was minister of atmosphere. As defence minster he tackled jihadist exercise that was brewing within the northern border in Burkina Faso.
In 2022, a France-based NGO, Promediation, mentioned its analysis confirmed that jihadist teams had recruited between 200 and 300 younger Ghanaians.
Violence within the space has additionally been on the rise, with issues that jihadists could also be attempting to take advantage of communal in-fighting between rival communities in northern Ghana.
Boamah’s e book A Peaceable Man In An African Democracy, about former president John Atta Mills, was as a consequence of come out later within the 12 months.
Muhammed was on the forefront of the battle in opposition to unlawful gold mining, which has wrecked the atmosphere and contaminated rivers and lakes.
Protests in opposition to the observe, identified domestically as Galamsey, peaked throughout Mahama’s run for the presidency final 12 months.
