Ghanaian Defense Minister Edward Omane Boamah (Photo courtesy of Facebook)

MIAMI – Ghanaian Defense Minister Edward Omane Boamah and seven others were killed when a military helicopter crashed in Ghana, according to the Associated Press.

The Ghanaian military said the helicopter took off in the morning from the capital, Accra, and was heading northwest into the interior toward the gold-mining area of Obuasi in the Ashanti region when it went off the radar.

The wreckage was later found in the Adansi area of Ashanti.

Boamah and Environment Minister Ibrahim Murtala Muhammed were killed, as well as Samuel Sarpong, vice chair of the National Democratic Congress ruling party; Muniru Mohammed, a top national security adviser; and the four crew members.

An investigation is underway to determine what caused the crash.