Defense Minister Edward Omane Boamah and Environment Minister Ibrahim Murtala Mohammed – and seven other people died in a helicopter crash on Wednesday, the state-owned Ghana News Agency reported.

The helicopter had taken off from Accra, the capital, en route to a mining conference when it went “off the radar,” the armed forces said.

Ghana's ministers of defence and environment have died in a military helicopter crash in the Ashanti region, along with six other people, a government spokesperson says. Earlier, the Ghana Armed Forces said the aircraft, which was carrying three crew and five passengers had gone "off the radar".