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Eight people killed in helicopter crash include Ghana Defence Minister

The government announced that Ghana's Minister of Defence Edward Omane Boamah, along with four officials and three members of the air force crew, died in a helicopter crash on Tuesday.

Julius Debrah, the chief of staff to President John Mahama, said at a press briefing that the accident in which Boamah, Minister Ibrahim Murtala Muhammed, and other victims were killed, was a tragedy for Ghana.

Debrah stated, "The President and Government extend our condolences to the families and servicemen of our comrades who have died while serving the country."

The authorities did not immediately explain what could have caused the crash.

The Ghanaian armed forces had earlier reported that radar contact with a Z9 helicopter of the airforce was lost.

Boamah was appointed as the new defence minister after Mahama's return to power in January.

His replacement will be responsible for a security dossier that is complex and includes threats both internal and external.

Ghana, like other West African coastal countries, faces threats from Islamist group active in the Sahel who have tried to push down from landlocked Burkina Faso or Mali where they regularly stage deadly attacks.

Mahama's spokesperson said that Ghana has deployed more troops to the northeastern region, where violence and attacks on schools have been fuelled by a long-running conflict about chieftaincy.

(source: Reuters)