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Ghana Helicopter Crash Kills 8, Including Defense and Environment Ministers

The helicopter had taken off from Accra, the capital, en route to a mining conference when it went “off the radar,” the armed forces said.

Ghana’s minister of defense, Edward Omane Boamah, was killed in a helicopter crash, the government said.Credit...Parliament of Ghana

Ghana’s minister of defense, Edward Omane Boamah, was killed in a helicopter crash, the government said.Credit...Parliament of Ghana

Ghana’s ministers of defense and environment died after a military helicopter crashed, killing all eight people on board, a government spokesman and the armed forces said on Wednesday.

Among the dead were Edward Omane Boamah, the minister of defense; and Ibrahim Murtala Mohammed, the minister of environment, science and technology, Julius Debrah, the government’s chief of staff, said in a televised news conference on Wednesday.

“I have the unpleasant duty, suddenly, to announce a national tragedy involving the crash of a military helicopter this morning,” Mr. Debrah said. It was not immediately clear why the helicopter crashed.

The deaths were announced hours after Ghana’s armed forces said in a post on social media that a helicopter traveling from Accra, the capital, to a mining community in the Ashanti region had gone “off the radar.” The post said efforts were being made to reestablish contact.

The armed forces subsequently confirmed the deaths of all onboard the helicopter in a statement on social media. It extended condolences to the families and said investigations were underway to determine the cause of the crash.

Also killed were the acting deputy national security coordinator, Alhaji Muniru Mohammed; the vice chair of the National Democratic Congress political party, Samuel Sarpong; the deputy director general of Ghana’s disaster relief agency, Samuel Aboagye; and three members of the military, including the pilot, according to Mr. Debrah.

The officials were headed to a gathering on illegal mining at the Obuasi Black Park in the Ashanti region as part of a broader government effort to encourage responsible practices, according to local news reports.

The gathering was meant to bring together Ghana’s president, John Dramani Mahama, along with other government and local leaders, mining association members and development partners, according to a program lineup posted online by officials ahead of the event. Obuasi is about 170 miles northwest of the capital.

Mr. Debrah called for all flags to be flown at half-staff until further notice.

Saikou Jammeh and Francis Kokutse contributed reporting.

Author: Ephrat Livni

Source: N.Y Times

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