Ghana’s President, John Mahama, has announced a comprehensive investigation into a tragic military helicopter crash that claimed the lives of the nation’s defence and environment ministers, along with six others.
The incident, which occurred on Wednesday, killed Defence Minister Edward Omane Boamah, Environment Minister Ibrahim Murtala Muhammed, and several senior political figures, as well as members of the air force crew.
“The Ghana armed forces has initiated a full and transparent investigation into the circumstances of this crash,” Mahama stated during a televised address.
According to the president, both the flight data recorder and cockpit voice recorder have been retrieved, and a special “board of enquiry has been set up to investigate the cause of the crash.”
The helicopter vanished from radar shortly after taking off from Accra, bound for Obuasi in southern Ghana.
All eight bodies have since been recovered, and a state funeral is scheduled for August 15.
“We’ve lost some of our nation’s brightest minds in a moment of shared heartbreak,” Mahama said.
In response to the tragedy, Mahama has suspended all official engagements for the remainder of the week and declared three days of national mourning from Thursday, with flags to be flown at half-mast.