How the BBC, CNN and other media giants reported August 6 tragedy

The tragic helicopter crash on Wednesday, August 6, 2025, which led to the deaths of eight people, including top government officials and military personnel, sent shock waves across Ghana and the world.

The disaster, which saw two cabinet ministers dying in a crash for the first time in Ghana's history, made news headlines in every part of the world.

Global media giants like CNN, the BBC and Al Jazeera all broke the news of the crash, which involved an aircraft of the Ghana Armed Forces, and have been following the incident.

Here is how some media giants reported the incident.

CNN

Two Ghana government ministers among 8 killed in helicopter crash

Ghana’s defense and environment ministers are among eight people killed after a military helicopter crashed in the southern Ashanti region on Wednesday, according to the chief of staff to the Ghanaian president.

Defense Minister Edward Omane Boamah and Environment Minister Ibrahim Murtala Mohammed were among the five passengers on board the helicopter, as well as three crew members.

Ghana’s Armed Forces said earlier on Wednesday that it had lost contact with a Z9 helicopter that was en route from the capital of Accra to Obuasi, a mining town in southern Ghana.

Julius Debrah, the chief of staff, said in a video statement that the crash was a “national tragedy” and announced that flags will fly half mast until further notice.

He said that Alhaji Mohammed Muniru Limuna, Ghana’s acting deputy national security coordinator, Samuel Sarpong, the vice chairman of the National Democratic Congress and Samuel Aboagye, a former parliamentary candidate, were the three other passengers killed in the crash.

The helicopter’s crew were named as squadron leader Peter Bafemi Anala, flying officer Malin Twum-Ampadu and Sgt. Ernest Addo Mensah.

This is a developing story and will be updated.

BBC

Two Ghanaian ministers die in helicopter crash, along with six others

Ghana's ministers of defence and environment and six other people have died when a military helicopter crashed in the central Ashanti region.

Defence Minister Edward Omane Boamah and Environment, Science and Technology Minister Ibrahim Murtala Muhammed, 50, were killed in the crash, which Chief of Staff Julius Debrah described as a "national tragedy".

The Z9 helicopter, carrying three crew and five passengers, came down in a dense forest as it was flying from the capital, Accra, to the town of Obuasi for an event to tackle illegal mining. There were no survivors.

The eight bodies have been retrieved from the wreckage and transported to Accra in coffins draped in the Ghanaian flag.

A solemn ceremony was held at the Air Force Base to receive them.

Plans to bury the Muslims among the deceased on Thursday have been postponed pending full identification of the bodies. The government has yet to announce the funeral arrangements.

What caused the crash?

The authorities have not confirmed the cause of the crash but the Ghanaian military said investigations had been launched.

Ghana's meteorological agency had forecast unusually cold weather for August, with recent rains and light showers causing foggy conditions in many forest areas. Local farmers near the crash site reported morning fog as the helicopter flew overhead.

One eyewitness told the BBC the helicopter was flying at an "unusually low altitude" and the weather was bad.

He said he heard the sound of the helicopter passing by, followed by a "loud sound" and then a "bang".

"That's when I realised that the helicopter had exploded. So I hurried to the place to see if I could find survivors," he said.

The farmer said when he got to the scene, there was "no-one to be rescued".

This is the most deadly of three separate emergency incidents involving Ghana Air Force helicopters in recent years.

In 2020, a Ghana Air Force Harbin Z-9 helicopter made an emergency landing near Tamale Airport, and last year, another Ghana Air Force helicopter made an emergency landing at Bonsukrom in Ghana's Western Region.

Three days of national mourning

Many Ghanaians are shocked by the news and still struggling to come to terms with the news. Images purportedly showing the charred remains of the helicopter have been circulating on social media.

President John Dramani Mahama has suspended all his scheduled activities for the rest of the week and declared three days of mourning starting from Thursday.

The government, through the president's chief of staff, directed the country's flags to fly at half-mast. He also extended condolences to "the servicemen who died in service to the country," on behalf of President Mahama and the government.

Ghana's Deputy National Security Coordinator and former Agriculture, Minister Alhaji Muniru Mohammed, was also among the dead, along with Samuel Sarpong, Vice-Chairman of the governing National Democratic Congress party.

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

President Mahama was feeling "down, down emotionally", Education Minister Haruna Iddrisu was cited as saying by news agency AFP.

Who was Edward Omane Boamah?

Boamah served under Mahama's previous government as communications minister and before that he was minister of environment. As defence minster he tackled jihadist activity that was brewing in the northern border in Burkina Faso.

In 2022, a France-based NGO, Promediation, said its research showed that jihadist groups had recruited between 200 and 300 young Ghanaians.

Violence in the area has also been on the rise, with concerns that jihadists may be trying to exploit communal in-fighting between rival communities in northern Ghana.

Boamah's book A Peaceful Man In An African Democracy, about former president John Atta Mills, was due to come out later in the year.

Who was Ibrahim Murtala Muhammed?

Muhammed was at the forefront of the battle against illegal gold mining, which has wrecked the environment and contaminated rivers and lakes.

Protests against the practice, known locally as Galamsey, peaked during Mahama's run for the presidency last year.

Al Jazeera

Ghana’s defence, environment ministers among 8 killed in helicopter crash

A helicopter crash has killed all eight people on board, including the nation’s defence and environment ministers, according to Ghana’s government.

Defence Minister Edward Omane Boamah and Environment Minister Ibrahim Murtala Muhammed were among the victims of the crash in the southern Ashanti region of the country, said Julius Debrah, chief of staff to President John Mahama, on Wednesday.

“The president and the government extend their condolences and solidarity to the families of our comrades and soldiers who fell in their service to the nation,” said Debrah.

Also among the victims were Alhaji Mohammad Muniru Limuna, deputy national security coordinator and former minister of agriculture, and Samuel Sarpong, vice chairman of Mahama’s National Democratic Congress (NDC) party.

Boamah was helming Ghana’s defence ministry at a time when armed groups across its northern border in Burkina Faso had become increasingly restive.

While Ghana has so far avoided a rebel spillover from the Sahel – unlike neighbours Togo and Benin – observers have warned of increased arms trafficking and of fighters from Burkina Faso crossing the porous border to use Ghana as a rear base.

A medical doctor by training, Boamah’s career in government included stints as communications minister during Mahama’s previous 2012-2017 tenure. Before that, he was the deputy minister for the environment.

As Ghana has pursued increased diplomacy with Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger – all ruled by military governments who have broken with the ECOWAS West African regional bloc – Boamah led a delegation to Ouagadougou in May.

He had been set to release a book titled, A Peaceful Man in an African Democracy, about former President John Atta Mills, who died in 2012.

The Ghanaian Armed Forces had reported earlier Wednesday that an air force helicopter had fallen off radar after taking off from Accra just after 9:00 am (09:00 GMT). It had been headed towards the town of Obuasi, northwest of the capital.

The statement had said that three crew and five passengers were on board, without specifying at the time that the ministers were among them.

All flags were to be flown at half-staff, Debrah said, while the presidency said Mahama had cancelled his official activities for the day.

New details show how Mahama, Muntaka, Gyamfi, and Nketiah 'narrowly missed' fatal helicopter crash

New York Times

Ghana Helicopter Crash Kills 8, Including Defense and Environment Ministers

Ghana’s ministers of defense and environment died after a military helicopter crashed, killing all eight people on board, a government spokesman and the armed forces said on Wednesday.

Among the dead were Edward Omane Boamah, the minister of defense; and Ibrahim Murtala Mohammed, the minister of environment, science and technology, Julius Debrah, the government’s chief of staff, said in a televised news conference on Wednesday.

“I have the unpleasant duty, suddenly, to announce a national tragedy involving the crash of a military helicopter this morning,” Mr. Debrah said. It was not immediately clear why the helicopter crashed.

The deaths were announced hours after Ghana’s armed forces said in a post on social media that a helicopter travelling from Accra, the capital, to a mining community in the Ashanti region had gone “off the radar.” The post said efforts were being made to reestablish contact.

The armed forces subsequently confirmed the deaths of all onboard the helicopter in a statement on social media. It extended condolences to the families and said investigations were underway to determine the cause of the crash.

Also killed were the acting deputy national security coordinator, Alhaji Muniru Mohammed; the vice chair of the National Democratic Congress political party, Samuel Sarpong; the deputy director general of Ghana’s disaster relief agency, Samuel Aboagye; and three members of the military, including the pilot, according to Mr. Debrah.

The officials were headed to a gathering on illegal mining at the Obuasi Black Park in the Ashanti region as part of a broader government effort to encourage responsible practices, according to local news reports.

The gathering was meant to bring together Ghana’s president, John Dramani Mahama, along with other government and local leaders, mining association members and development partners, according to a program lineup posted online by officials ahead of the event. Obuasi is about 170 miles northwest of the capital by car and about 110 miles by air.

Mr Debrah called for all flags to be flown at half-staff until further notice.

This was not the first military helicopter crash in Ghana. In 2007, a military chopper carrying the casket of a former defense minister to his funeral burst into flames and crashed after hitting a telephone pole during landing. The passengers and crew members survived, but the body was not recovered, according to local news media.

In 2002, a military helicopter dispatched to transport people injured in a car accident to a hospital in Accra also crashed, killing seven.

And in 2014, a service helicopter carrying workers to an offshore drilling rig burst into flames and crashed into the sea, killing four of eight people onboard, according to an official investigation.

4 Incidents, 35 Fatalities: Four deadly aircraft crashes recorded in Ghana's history

AP

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

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.

BAI/AE

Meanwhile, watch below the trailer for GhanaWeb’s upcoming documentary on teenage girls and how fish is stealing their futures: