A helicopter crash on Wednesday, August 6, claimed the lives of eight people, including top Ghanaian government officials. But one minister narrowly escaped — all because of a last-minute meeting.
Deputy Director-General of the National Service Authority, Fuseini Donkor, revealed on TV3’s NewDay that Interior Minister Muntaka Mohammed-Mubarak was initially set to be the fifth passenger aboard the ill-fated Z-9 military helicopter.
However, Finance Minister Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson intervened, pulling Muntaka out for a crucial meeting with the Ghana Immigration Service.
That empty seat was then filled by Dr. Ibrahim Murtala Mohammed, the Minister for Environment, who tragically died in the crash.
“But for Ato’s insistence, Muntaka would’ve been on that flight,” Donkor said, describing it as a twist of fate.
The crash, which occurred in the Adansi area of the Ashanti Region, has been described as a national tragedy.
President Mahama’s Chief of Staff, Julius Debrah, announced that flags will fly at half-mast to honour the victims.
