Helicopter crash in Ghana: 8 killed; defence, environment ministers among dead

Ghana's government has confirmed that a tragic helicopter crash has killed eight people, including two senior ministers. Among the victims were defence minister Edward Omane Boamah and environment minister Ibrahim Murtala Muhammed . Also on board were the vice-chair of the ruling National Democratic Congress, a senior national security adviser and the helicopter's crew members.

The military reported that the helicopter took off on Wednesday morning from the capital, Accra and was going to Obuasi, a gold-mining area in the Ashanti region, but later went off the radar. The exact cause of the crash is still under investigation.

The aircraft involved was a Z-9 utility helicopter , commonly used for transportation and medical evacuations. The government has called the incident a "national tragedy."

This marks one of Ghana’s worst aviation disasters in over a decade. In May 2014, a service helicopter crashed off the coast that killed at least three people. In 2021, a cargo plane overran the runway in Accra and crashed into a bus full of passengers, killing at least 10 people.