Lieutenant General William Agyapong, Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) of the Ghana Armed Forces, has explained that cocoa sacks were used to transport the remains of eight helicopter crash victims due to severe heat damage.

He said that although body bags were available at the crash site, the condition of the remains made them unsuitable for use.

“We had some body bags at the scene, but the remains were so heated that it was not conducive for the bags to be used,” he stated when executives of the Ghana Journalists Association (GJA) visited him at Burma Camp in Accra.

“It was in a thick forest. It was getting late. We had the option of leaving our remains there until the following day, and we knew what would have happened to the bodies,” he added.

Lit. Gen. Agyapong acknowledged that while some actions may not have aligned with cultural norms, the team did their best with the resources available.

He urged public patience, assuring that investigations are underway and updates would follow.

The CDS confirmed that search operations at the crash site continue to recover all remains and aircraft parts.

“As I speak, personnel on the ground are expanding the search daily because we do not yet know the full extent of the wreckage,” he said.

Albert Dwumfour, President of the GJA, urged the military to provide regular updates to prevent misinformation.

“Even when there is no update, just informing the public that the investigation is ongoing and that the public should disregard any information in the media or in the public space until you come out with what, that alone can serve as information,” he said.

Mr Dwumfour also called on journalists to be circumspect in their coverage of the incident.

“I urge our members to be circumspect in their reportage, to attach some decency to whatever we put out there because, in times like this, these are very sensitive problems, where if we don’t take care of the information you put out there, it will rather cause more harm,” he stressed.