A military helicopter crashed today in the Ashanti region of southern Ghana, killing all eight people on board, including the country’s Ministers of Defense and Environment, according to a government statement.

The Z-9 military helicopter went down under unclear circumstances shortly after taking off from the capital, Accra, en route to the city of Obuasi.

Julius Debrah, Chief of Staff to President John Mahama, announced in a press conference that Defense Minister Edward Omane Boamah and Environment, Science, and Technology Minister Ibrahim Murtala Mohammed tragically lost their lives in the crash.

Also among the dead were Alhaji Muniru Mohammed, Deputy National Security Coordinator and former Minister of Agriculture; Samuel Sarpong, Vice President of the National Democratic Congress (NDC); former parliamentary candidate Samuel Aboagye; and three crew members.

“This is a national tragedy,” said Julius Debrah, announcing that flags would fly at half-mast.