President John Mahama promises a comprehensive investigation

Ghanaian President John Mahama promised a full investigation into Wednesday’s helicopter crash, killing two government ministers and six others.

Secretary of Defense Edward Omane Boamah and Minister of Environment, Science and Technology Ibrahim Murtala Muhammed, When a military plane crashed in the central Asanti region, 50 people were killed.

In a televised speech to the country, Mahama said that the crash represented “personal loss” to him.

“I share the bond with many dead people. Our country is grieving,” he said.

The Z9 helicopter, carrying three crew members and five passengers, flew from the capital Accra to the town of Obuasi and fell in dense forests to carry out an activity to deal with illegal mining. No survivors.

The bodies of eight dead people have been recovered from the crash site and samples have been sent to South Africa for forensic identification and analysis.

Ghana’s deputy national security coordinator and former Agriculture Minister Alhaji Muniru Mohammed was also among them, as well as Samuel Sarpong, the vice chairman of the Democratic Congress.

AFP reported that the state funeral will be held for the victims on August 15.

Authorities have not confirmed the cause of the crash, but Mahama confirmed that flight data and cockpit recorders have been retrieved and that the armed forces in Ghana “launched a comprehensive and transparent investigation.”

Ghana’s Meteorological Bureau predicts that the weather will be unusually cold in August, with recent rains and showers causing fog in many forest areas. Local farmers near the crash site reported that morning fog flew over their heads.

A witness told the BBC that the helicopter was flying at an “unusually low altitude” and the weather was bad.

He said he heard the sound of the helicopter passing by, then heard the “loud sound” and then the “explosion.”

He said: “That was when I realized the helicopter exploded.

When he arrived at the scene, “no one could rescue him.”

This is the deadliest of three emergency incidents involving Ghanaian Air Force helicopters in recent years.

In 2020, the Ghanaian Air Force Z-9 helicopter caused an emergency landing near Tamalay Airport, and last year another Ghanaian Air Force helicopter made an emergency landing in Bonsukrom, western Ghana.

Many Ghanaians are shocked by the news and are still working to reach an agreement with the news. The remains of the helicopter were allegedly shown to have been circulating on social media.

President Mahama suspended all his planned activities for the rest of the week and announced three days of mourning starting Thursday.

The country’s flag flies on half-mast.

The crew was appointed squadron leader Peter Bafemi Anala, flight officer Manin Twum-Ampadu and Sgt. Ernest Addo Mensah.

Boamah served as Communications Minister in Mahama’s former government, before he served as Environment Minister. As Secretary of Defense, he resolved jihadism brewing on the northern border of Burkina Faso.

In 2022, Propication, a France-based non-governmental organization, said its research showed that jihadist groups recruited 200 to 300 young Ghanaians.

Violence is also increasing in the region, with fears that jihadists may be trying to exploit public battles between rival communities in northern Ghana.

Boamah’s book is a democratic and peaceful man in Africa, about former President John Atta Mills, to be published later this year.

Muhammed is at the forefront of a battle against illegal gold mining, which damages the environment and pollutes rivers and lakes.

The protests against this practice, known locally as Galamsi, reached their peak during the campaign last year of Moahma.