President Bola Tinubu has sympathised with his Ghana’s counterpart, John Mahama, and the Government and people of Ghana following the helicopter crash that claimed the lives of Defence Minister Edward Boamah, Environment Minister Ibrahim Muhammed, and six others.

In a statement on Wednesday, presidential spokesman Bayo Onanuga, Tinubu assured Mahama and all Ghanaians that the thoughts and prayers of the government and people of Nigeria are with them during this time of profound national loss.

He urged the Ghanaian nation and the bereaved families and friends to find comfort in the knowledge that their loved ones died in the line of patriotic service to the country.

He prayed for the peaceful repose of the souls of the departed and strength for those left behind.

The Ghanaian armed forces reported a chopper carrying three crew and five passengers dropped off the radar on Wednesday.

Television station Joy News broadcast cell phone footage from the crash scene showing smouldering wreckage amid a heavily forested area earlier in the day.

Muniru Mohammed, Ghana’s deputy national security coordinator and former agriculture minister, was among the dead, along with Samuel Sarpong, vice chairman of Mahama’s National Democratic Congress party.

Boamah became Mahama’s defence minister earlier this year shortly after Mahama’s swearing-in in January.

Muhammed was serving as the minister of environment, science and technology.

Everyone onboard was killed in the accident, authorities said, while Ghanaian media reported that the helicopter was on its way to an event on illegal mining — a major environmental issue in the west African country.