The military helicopter accident in the Ghana region Ashanti killed all eight people, including Defense Minister Edward Omane Boamah and the Minister of the Environment Ibrahim Murtal Muhammed. The Z9 aircraft disappeared from the radar just after 9:12 local time on Wednesday during the flight from the capital Akrky to Obuasi, the city of gold mining 200 km.
Rescue teams found debris in the Adansi Acrofuom district, where graphic images showed burnt remnants in the middle of the debris.
President John Maham canceled all official activities and ordered flags summer in the middle of the mast throughout the country. The chief of the staff Julius Debrah called it “national tragedy” and expressed condolences to the families of victims who died “on duty in the country”.
The victims included five government officials and three crew members. Together with the ministers, the accident was killed by the representative of the National Security coordinator Alhai Munir Mohammed (former Minister of Agriculture), Samuel Sarpong (vice -chairman of the ruling NDC party) and former parliamentary candidate Samuel Abagye.
The crew, the leader of the squadron Peter Anala, the flying officer of Manin Twum-Angad and Sergeant Ernest Addo Mensah, were experienced by the Air Force in Ghana.
The group traveled to an anti-Im-butgal mining event when the helicopter lost contact near Obuasi, a region fighting with environmental damage in gold mining. No emergency calls were issued before the accident, so investigators were confused about this cause.
Deaths create critical security gaps for ghana. Defense Minister Boamah, a doctor who turned to politics, recently strengthened the border defense against Islamic fighters who spilled from Burkina Faso. Only three months ago he conducted diplomatic interviews with military leaders Burkina Faso in the middle of growing weapons trading along the Ghanaian northern border.
The death of the Minister of the Environment Muhammed also stops key initiatives against illegal gold mining, which poisoned the Greeks and agricultural land. The participating helicopter, the Chinese Z9, which is often used for medical evacuation, had no known previous mechanical problems.
This means the deadliest air disaster of Ghana since 2012, when the cargo aircraft accident killed 10 in axle. Ghana faces deep uncertainty as the investigation begins. The Air Force grounded all Z9 helicopters that waited for the probe into possible causes, from mechanical failure to weather or human error.
The security analyst Emmanuel Kotin warned: “Loss of key guidance in the middle of the threat of terrorism requires immediate action”.
The Mourners gathered at the accident site and laid flowers where regional Minister Ashanti Frank Amoakohene was in a hurry. As the night fell, President Maham addressed the nation and undertook “transparent finding” and promised the work of officials “not abandoned”.
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With funerals waiting, Ghana watches seven days of national sadness for leaders, whose last trip ended the flames over the golden land.
(Tagstotranslate) Helicopter crash in ghana
