Defence Minister and Environment Minister Among 8 Confirmed Dead in Military Helicopter Crash
Ghana’s Minister for Defence, Dr Omane Boamah, and Minister for Environment, Science and Technology, Dr Murtala Mohammed, have been confirmed dead following a tragic Ghana Armed Forces helicopter crash on the morning of Wednesday, August 6, 2025.
The two high-profile ministers were among eight individuals on board the ill-fated aircraft, which crashed in the Adansi Akrofuom District of the Ashanti Region while en route to Obuasi.
The Ghana Armed Forces and government sources have confirmed the fatalities, though full details of the incident remain under investigation. The cause of the crash has not yet been officially determined.
Initial reports from the crash site indicated that the helicopter caught fire upon impact, with eyewitnesses describing scenes of charred wreckage and dismembered remains. Assembly Member for the area, Matthew Baah, who was among the first to be alerted, stated that the crash site was engulfed in flames when residents arrived.
“After the crash, everything went silent. Residents who rushed to the scene found the helicopter in flames,” he said in an interview with Adom FM.
The Presidency is expected to release formal statements shortly, as the nation begins to come to terms with the loss of two cabinet ministers and five others.
The following are Confirmed Dead:
1. Dr Edward Omane Boamah – Minister for Defence
2. Alhaji Dr Ibrahim Murtala Mohammed – Minister for Environment
3. Alhaji Muniru Mohammed – Acting Deputy National Security Coordinator
4. Dr Samuel Sarpong – Vice Chairman, NDC
5. Mr Samuel Aboagye – Former Parliamentary candidate
6. Squadron leader Peter
7. Flying Officer Twum Ampadu
8. Sergeant Ernest Addo
Profile of Dr Edward Omane Boamah – Minister for Defence
Dr. Omane Boamah was once the Minister of Communications under the erstwhile John Mahama administration. Prior to his appointment, he was the deputy minister for the Ministry of Environment, Science and Technology and the Ministry of Sports.
He is a trained medical doctor from the University of Ghana Medical School with a medical elective in a university in Missouri in the United States.
The astute Ghanaian politician also served as spokesperson to President Mahama in his first term.
Education
He attended Pope John Senior High School and Minor Seminary in Koforidua, Ghana. He is an alumnus of the University of Ghana Medical School, where he trained as a Medical Doctor.
He did a stint at the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, Missouri, USA. In addition, he holds a master’s degree in Health Policy Planning and Financing from both London School of Economics and London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.
As a student, he served as the President of the National Union of Ghana Students (NUGS) and the Coordinating Secretary of the Federation of Ghana Medical Students Association (FGMSA).
Political career
Deputy Minister for Environment, Science and Technology: From 2009 to 2012, he served as a deputy minister for environment, science and technology and later the National Democratic Congress’s deputy campaign coordinator in the 2012 general elections.
He also served as the vice chairman of the United Nations Commission on Science and Technology for Development (UNCSTD).
As a deputy minister for environment, science and technology, he chaired the committees which investigated the spillage of Low Toxicity Oil-Based Mud (LTOBM) by KOSMOS Energy in the Jubilee Offshore Field – West Cape Three Points in Ghana and the spillage of sodium cyanide in a water body in Kenyase, Ghana, by Newmont Ghana Gold Limited.
Deputy Minister of Youth and Sports
Omane Boamah served as Deputy Minister for Youth and Sport in the administration of President John Evans Attah-Mills from 2012 to 2013.
Minister for Communications
He was appointed in February 2013 by President John Mahama after the December 2012 election, Spokesperson to the President of Ghana, H.E. John Dramani Mahama, from August 2014 to January 2017. Prior to these appointments, he was assigned the responsibility of coordinating Ghana’s participation in the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations (AfCON 2013).
Profile of Alhaji Dr Ibrahim Murtala Mohammed – Minister for Environment
Ibrahim Murtala Muhammed (born 14 December 1974) was a Ghanaian politician, member of the Eighth and ninth Parliament of the Fourth Republic of Ghana representing the Tamale Central (Ghana parliament constituency) and served as the minister of Ministry of Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation until his death on 6th August 2025.
He once served as the member of Parliament for Nanton, the Deputy Minister for Information and Media Relations and the Deputy Minister of Trade and Industry.
He is Member of Parliament for Tamale Central Constituency in the Northern Region. In December 2024, he was re-elected to serve as Member of Parliament for Tamale Central Constituency in the Ninth Parliament of the Fourth Republic of Ghana.
Early years and education
Muhammed attended Ghana Senior High (GHANASCO), Tamale. He is a trained teacher who holds a teacher’s certificate A from Tamale College of Education (TACE), formerly Tamale training College (TATCO). He also holds a master’s degree in Development Planning and International Relations and Diplomacy from the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology and the University of Ghana respectively.
Political career
In 2009, after a change of political power from the NPP to NDC, Murtala Muhammed was appointed the deputy national coordinator of the National Youth Employment Programme (NYEP) by John Evans Atta Mills which was later rebranded into Ghana Youth Employment Development Agency, (GYEDA). He held this position until he was elected Member of Parliament for the Nanton Constituency in the 2012 Elections.
Member of Parliament
In 2006, following the decision by Wayo Seini, MP for Tamale Central constituency, to defect to the NPP, a by-election was declared fill in the vacancy. Muhammed stood for the NDC primaries but lost to Inusah Fuseini who eventually won the by-election replace Wayo Seini. Muhammed contested his party’s primaries in 2008 and lost again to Fuseini who went on to retain his position in Parliament. Muhammed moved to stand for the primaries in the Nanton Constituency and this time, he won to represent the NDC as its Parliamentary candidate for the 2012 election.
