3 Crew Members, 8 Passengers on Missing Helicopter
A Ghana Armed Forces (GAF) Z9 helicopter carrying eight individuals—three crew members and five passengers—crashed in Adansi Akrofuom District, Ashanti Region, on August 6, 2025. The aircraft, en route from Accra to Obuasi, departed at 9:12 a.m. GMT and lost radar contact shortly after, prompting urgent search-and-rescue efforts.
The helicopter, reportedly carrying top government officials to the Responsible Cooperative Mining and Skills Development Programme (rCOMSDEP) launch in Obuasi, crashed into a tree and burst into flames, burning beyond recognition. Eyewitnesses reported dismembered remains at the Adansi Sikaman site, with initial fears that four occupants perished.
GAF, in a statement by Captain Veronica Adzo Arhin, confirmed the aircraft’s disappearance and ongoing efforts to locate it, withholding identities and mission details. The Assembly Member, Matthew Baah, noted poor weather as a possible factor, though the exact cause remains under investigation by military authorities.
The crash follows a March 2024 GAF helicopter incident in Bonsukrom, where no fatalities occurred. The rCOMSDEP event, a flagship initiative to reform artisanal mining, underscores the strategic importance of the passengers, heightening the urgency of the search operation in the dense Ashanti terrain.
Emergency response teams, including GAF and local authorities, are combing the crash site near Adansi Brofoyedu. The incident, the first major military aviation disaster in Ghana since 2018, has raised concerns about air safety amid challenging regional conditions.