A solemn military ceremony was held Wednesday evening at the Accra airbase to honour the eight individuals who lost their lives in a tragic helicopter crash in Ghana. Among the victims were Defence Minister Edward Omane Boamah and Environment Minister Ibrahim Murtala Muhammed.
The crash also claimed the lives of the deputy chairman of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), a senior national security official, and four crew members. The group had been en route to a gold-mining site in the Ashanti Region when their military helicopter departed from the capital Wednesday morning but soon disappeared from radar.
Search teams later discovered the wreckage in the Adansi area of Ashanti. There were no survivors.
The bodies of the victims were flown back to Accra by a Ghana Air Force plane, which landed at around 9 PM. A high-level government delegation, headed by the President’s Chief of Staff, Julius Debrah, was present to receive the remains.
During the brief ceremony, held in line with military tradition, each coffin was draped in Ghana’s national flag. Prayers were offered by both Christian and Muslim religious leaders before the remains were taken to the mortuary.
Environment Minister Ibrahim Murtala Muhammed, who also served as the Minister for Science and Technology, will be buried on Thursday at 10 AM in his hometown of Tamale in Northern Ghana. The 48-year-old will be laid to rest in accordance with Islamic customs, which stress the importance of timely burial. The announcement was made by local government officials in Tamale.
In response to the national tragedy, the Ghanaian government has declared a three-day period of mourning. National flags will be flown at half-mast throughout the country in remembrance of the eight lives lost.
