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

According to the report, three crew members and 5 passengers were on board the helicopter, including Ghanaian Defense Minister Edward Omane Boama and Environment Minister Ibrahim Murtala Mohammed. They all died.

The Ghanaian Armed Forces earlier reported that they had lost contact with the Z9 helicopter, which was heading from the capital Accra to Obuasi, a mining town in southern Ghana.

The President's chief of staff, Julius Debra, called the disaster a "national tragedy" in a video statement and announced that flags would be lowered at half-mast until further notice.

He said that Alhaji Mohammed Munir Limuna, the acting Deputy Coordinator of Ghana's national security, Samuel Sarpong, the deputy chairman of the National Democratic Congress, and Samuel Aboagye, a former parliamentary candidate, were the three other passengers who died in the crash.

The helicopter's crew consisted of Squadron Commander Peter Bafemi Anal, pilot Malin Twum-Ampadu and Sergeant Ernest Addo Mensah.

Sibiga expressed his condolences to the Government and people of Ghana in connection with the death of high-ranking officials of the country in a plane crash. pravda.com.ua.

Sibiga's direct speech: "We express our deepest condolences to the Government and people of Ghana over the tragic deaths of Defense Minister Edward Kofi Oman Boam, Environment Minister Ibrahim Murtala Mohammed, and other officials and military personnel in a fatal helicopter crash."