everything we know so far after eight killed in helicopter crash in ghana

A military helicopter crashed in Ghana,killing all eight people on board,including two top ministers and two other officials.

The country’s military said the helicopter took off from the capital,Accra,and was heading northwest towards the Ashanti region when it went off the radar.

The wreckage was later found in the Adansi area of Ashanti.

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.

The crew members were named as Squadron Leader Peter Bafemi Anala,Flying Officer Manin Twum-Ampadu,and Sergeant Ernest Addo Mensah.

Footage from the crash site shows debris on fire in a forest as some people circle around to help.

people work at the site of a military helicopter crash in Sikaman near Adansi,Ashanti region,Ghana (Picture: AP)

Environment Minister Ibrahim Murtala Muhammed has been killed in the crash (Picture: Ghanaian Ministry of Environment)

Edward Omane Boamah,Ghana’s defense minister who was killed Wednesday in a helicopter crash(Picture: Parliament of Ghana)

What caused the helicopter crash in Ghana?

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

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

Mourners gathered at Edward Boamah’s residence as well as at the party’s headquarters.

The Ghanaian government described the crash as a ‘national tragedy’.

President John Dramani Mahama has suspended government schedules for the rest of the week to begin a three-day mourning period.

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

Edward Boamah tackled jihadist activity during his time as defence minister.

His book ‘A Peaceful Man In An African Democracy’ about former president John Atta Mills,was due to come out this year.

Ibrahim Muhammed headed a battle against illegal gold mining to help protect Ghana’s rivers and lakes.

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.