Ghana has declared three days of national mourning after two government ministers were killed in a military helicopter crash on Wednesday.

By: Melissa Chemam with RFI

The crash happened in a forested area in the south of the country. The helicopter was carrying three crew and five passengers. All eight people on board died.

Flags are flying at half-mast across Ghana.

Defence Minister Edward Omane Boamah and Environment Minister Ibrahim Murtala Muhammed were among the dead. They were flying from Accra to the southern town of Obuasi when the crash happened, the presidency said.

“The president and government extend our condolences and sympathies to the families of our comrades and the servicemen who died in service to the country,” said President John Mahama’s chief of staff, Julius Debrah.

Mahama is said to be feeling “down emotionally”.

Messages of condolence have also come from the African Union and the West African bloc Ecowas.

The Ghanaian Armed Forces said an investigation is underway to find out what caused the crash.

Local television station Joy News showed mobile phone footage of burning wreckage in thick forest.

The military said earlier on Wednesday that an air force Z9 helicopter had gone missing from radar. It had taken off from Accra just after 9:00 am local time and was heading northwest to Obuasi.

Media reports said the flight was linked to an event on illegal gold mining, a major environmental problem in Ghana.

Muhammed, 50, was due to attend UN talks in Geneva this week on a global treaty to tackle plastic pollution.

He was serving as Minister for Environment, Science and Technology.

Boamah had been appointed as Defence Minister in January, shortly after Mahama took office.

Muhammed had been leading efforts to fight illegal gold mining. The practice has destroyed farmland and polluted rivers, and is threatening cocoa crops.

The issue featured heavily in last year’s election, which brought Mahama to power.

This year, the new government created the Ghana Gold Board and banned foreigners from the local gold trade. Both moves were seen as key parts of its crackdown.

The head of the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), Inger Andersen, said Muhammed was a “committed environmentalist” and “deeply respected” across Africa and beyond.

She said he had recently been elected to the African Ministerial Conference on the Environment (AMCEN) in Nairobi.

The crash is a blow for Ghana’s security at a time of rising tension near its northern border.

Also among the dead were Alhaji Muniru Mohammed, Ghana’s deputy national security coordinator and former agriculture minister, and Samuel Sarpong, a senior figure in Mahama’s National Democratic Congress party.

Boamah had been leading Ghana’s defence efforts at a time of growing violence in Burkina Faso.

Ghana has so far avoided jihadist attacks, unlike neighbours Togo and Benin. But some experts have warned of weapons smuggling and fighters crossing the border from Burkina Faso.

In May, Boamah travelled to Ouagadougou to boost ties with Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger – three military-led countries that recently quit Ecowas.

President Mahama has cancelled all official events for the rest of the week. The mourning period began on Thursday.

(with newswires)