Helicopter crash in Ghana kills ministers of defense and environment and 6 others

A man rides a bicycle past Ghanian flags flown at half mast at the independence square in Accra, Ghana, Thursday, Aug.9, 2012. (AP Photo/Sunday Alamba)

ACCRA, Ghana — A military helicopter crashed in Ghana on Wednesday, killing all eight people on board, including the West African country’s defense and environment ministers and two other top officials, the government said.

The crash was one of Ghana’s worst air disasters in more than a decade.

The Ghanaian military said the helicopter took off in the morning from the capital, Accra, and was heading northwest into the interior toward the gold-mining area of Obuasi in the Ashanti region when it went off the radar. The wreckage was later found in the Adansi area of Ashanti.

The cause of the crash was not immediately known, and the military said an investigation was underway.

Defense Minister Edward Omane Boamah and Environment Minister Ibrahim Murtala Muhammed were killed, as well as Samuel Sarpong, vice-chair of the National Democratic Congress ruling party, Muniru Mohammed, a top national security adviser, and the four crew members.

Mourners gathered at the Boamah’s residence as well as at the party’s headquarters, and Ghana’s government described the crash as a “national tragedy.”

State media reported that the aircraft was a Z-9 helicopter that is often used for transport and medical evacuation.

An online video of the crash site shows debris on fire in a forest as some people circle around to help.

In May 2014, a service helicopter crashed off Ghana’s coast, killing at least three people. In 2012, a cargo plane overran the runway in Accra, the capital, and crashed into a bus full of passengers, killing at least 10 people.

Ope Adetayo, The Associated Press

Associated Press writer Chinedu Asadu in Dakar, Senegal, contributed to this report.