Ghana government receives remains of ministers killed in helicopter crash

The eight victims of a helicopter crash in Ghana, including the defence and environment ministers, were received with military honours at the Accra airbase Wednesday evening.

Defence Minister Edward Omane Boamah and Environment Minister Ibrahim Murtala Muhammed were killed alongside the vice-chair of the National Democratic Congress, a top national security adviser, and four crew members on their way to a gold-mining area in the Ashanti region.

The delegation took off in a military helicopter on Wednesday morning from the capital, heading northwest into the interior before the vehicle went off the radar. The wreckage was later found in the Adansi area of Ashanti with no survivors.

The bodies were transported on a Ghana Air Force aircraft, which arrived in Accra at 9 PM. High-ranking government officials, led by the President’s Chief of Staff, Julius Debrah, were in attendance to receive the remains.

The ceremony was brief, following traditional military protocols. The eight coffins were draped in the national flag, before Christian and Muslim clergymen prayed for the victims. The coffins were then taken by cars to the morgue. 

The burial of Minister for Environment, Science and Technology, Ibrahim Mohammed, was set to take place on Thursday, 10 AM local time in Tamale, Northern Ghana, but the arrangement has been postponed.

The government have informed the family of the changes in plans, but the reason and the new date are not yet known.

To honour Mohammed and the seven other victims of the crash, Ghana's government has declared a three-day mourning period and ordered all national flags to fly at half-mast.