Retired Colonel and security analyst Festus Aboagye has rejected speculation that the August 6 military helicopter crash at Adansi Akrofuom in the Ashanti Region involved a mid-air explosion.
The crash tragically claimed the lives of eight people, including Defence Minister Dr Edward Omane Boamah, Minister for Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation Dr Ibrahim Murtala Muhammed, former parliamentary candidate Samuel Aboagye, NDC Vice Chairman Samuel Sarpong, and Acting Deputy National Security Coordinator Alhaji Limuna Muniru Mohammed.
The crew members who perished were Squadron Leader Peter Bafemi Anala, Flying Officer Manin Twum-Ampadu, and Sergeant Ernest Addo Mensah.
Refuting Explosion Claims
Speaking on Channel One TV on August 13, Col Aboagye said his aim was to “clear some of these conspiracies” around the tragedy.
“The first thing is that there’s no evidence. The evidence that I have, call it empirical or recorded, is BBC. When the BBC does a report, they have done a lot of fact-checking. So BBC is saying that the eyewitness told us ‘loud noise’, a ‘bang’, suggesting that there was an impact, and then there was an explosion,” he explained.
He added that if the aircraft had exploded in the air, there would have been obvious signs.
“Assuming that it exploded mid-air, we must see the tops of the trees burnt, which will be part of the evidence,” Col Aboagye noted.
According to him, current findings indicate that the explosion occurred after the helicopter hit the ground, not while airborne.
National Mourning
A state funeral for the victims will take place on Friday, August 15, at the Black Star Square in Accra. National leaders, security services, and citizens are expected to pay their final respects.
The tragedy has left Ghana in deep mourning and renewed calls for a thorough investigation into the cause of the crash.
