President John Dramani Mahama has set aside three days of mourning to be observed nationwide, from Thursday, August 7, 2025.
This announcement followed the tragic demise of eight persons, consisting of five government officials and a three-member crew, in their line of duty to the nation in the early hours of Wednesday, August 6, 2025. He has thus, suspended all his activities for the week.
The Presidency confirmed the deaths of the Minister for Defence, Dr Edward Omane Boamah, and the Minister for Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation, Ibrahim Murtala Mohammed, following a Ghana Armed Forces (GAF) helicopter crash in the Adansi Akrofuom District of the Ashanti Region.
The others were Muniru Mohammed, Acting Deputy National Security Coordinator; Samuel Aboagye, a former parliamentary candidate; and Samuel Sarpong, Vice-Chairman of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) also died from the crash, which occurred on Wednesday, August 6, 2025.
The helicopter’s crew: Squadron Leader Peter Bafemi Anala, Flying Officer Manin Twum-Ampadu and Sergeant Ernest Addo Mensah — also perished in the crash while aboard a GAF Z-9 helicopter en route to Obuasi when the aircraft went off radar.
In a brief statement, the Ghana Armed Forces confirmed that the helicopter lost contact shortly after taking off on the morning of Wednesday, August 6, 2025.
The whole nation has since been thrown into a state of grief, with condolences pouring out from several organisations home and abroad.
