The Minister of the Interior, Mubarak Mohammed Muntaka, has confirmed that the remains of the eight individuals who tragically lost their lives in Wednesday’s military helicopter crash have been transported to South Africa for DNA testing to facilitate identification.
The Minister stated that despite initial plans for the 37 Military Hospital in Accra to conduct the autopsy and identification procedures, the condition of the bodies necessitated more advanced forensic processes, prompting the decision to transfer the remains abroad for further analysis.
He said this was the first time we were having this kind of tragedy.
“As you may all know, we are grateful to God that we were able to retrieve all the bodies and they were brought to Accra last night. But to speed up the investigation, we obviously need to do further examination and investigation. Just for the avoidance of doubt, some of the forensics that need to be done have to be done outside the country, and that’s why we are trying to fast-track the process.”
He commended the bereaved families for their cooperation despite the difficulties and devastation.
“We know that this evening the President will address the nation and the world, so we hope that we will all be patient and wait for the President’s address. We want to thank the families for the cooperation and support they’ve shown. We know they are grieving and eager to have their family members back to intern them. We’re happy they’re cooperating with us because this goes beyond burying; we’re trying to establish what happened and how things went so that we can avoid it in the future. So, we thank the families for all their support.”
Two cabinet ministers, the Minister for Defence, Dr. Edward Omane Boamah, and Minister for Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation, Dr. Ibrahim Murtala Mohammed, were killed in the crash.
Also killed were Alhaji Muniru Mohammed, Acting Deputy National Security Coordinator; Samuel Aboagye, a former parliamentary candidate; and Dr. Samuel Sarpong, National Vice Chairman of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC). The three Air Force personnel who operated the ill-fated Ghana Armed Forces Z-9 helicopter—Squadron Leader Peter Bafemi Anala, Flight Officer Manin Twum-Ampadu, and Sergeant Ernest Addo Mensah—also lost their lives during the official flight to Obuasi.
