“Leaving your home each day to return safely is a great gift. Let us not underrate that blessing” (Unknown author)

Wednesday, August 6, was a devastating day for us all in Ghana. For eight persons to have perished in the line of duty to country in a harrowing accident, such as a helicopter crash, is a disaster that can never be wished away.

That black Wednesday morning, responding to the call of duty and Mother Ghana, was normal for most people, including the eight people. But as fate would have it, the normal turned abnormal, sending some to a disastrous exit from this world.

I had just turned on my radio as I sat in my car to drive off from a normal Wednesday afternoon prayer session, specifically slated for the nation of Ghana. Like we usually do at the prayer session, we held our Ghana flags high as we sang the national anthem, “God bless our homeland Ghana”, as part of our closing prayer. What we did not know was that our nation had been hit with a tragedy earlier in the morning.

With a mourning song by Daddy Lumba in the background, the host of the radio programme I had tuned in to announced that Ghana had been hit with a catastrophic occurrence a few hours into the morning.  Confused and wanting to know more, I turned the tune of radio slightly higher. He kept saying they were confirming some details about a helicopter crash somewhere in the Ashanti Region and will let listeners know the details in due course.

Confused state

I was in a confused state of mind as he repeated his “teaser”.  The 2 pm news came on shortly after, and the news anchor relayed the unpalatable breaking news of a helicopter crash in a thick forest near Obuasi in the Ashanti Region, with some Government officials on board. My heart throbbed a beat.  Ironically, we had just finished praying for one hour for Ghana, I kept saying to myself.

I managed to get home to switch on the television only to hear the Chief of Staff, in a solemn mood, addressing the nation with details to confirm the devastating news.

As the details unfolded over the rest of the afternoon, a foreboding sense of loss, a deep grief, as a matter of fact, gripped me even though I never knew any of them that closely. All I kept whispering was God, have mercy on Ghana.

The circumstances of the loss of our gallant nationals last Wednesday morning have left one with deep sorrow that cuts right into the heart. One did not have to be a family member, a colleague, a friend or an associate. The loss is a collective loss because it could have happened to anyone, be it at home, on the farm, on the road, in the air or on the sea. 

Unexplained tragedies

In such unexplained tragedies, one can only turn to God or Allah for comfort and strength. The real lesson one gets reminded of is the fleeting nature of life. Like the wind, life whittles away so fast that it can never be retrieved.

Naturally, each of the eight persons must have said goodbye to their families, especially the newly wedded young officer who might have even hugged his beautiful bride with loving words of seeing each other soon. Some might even have indicated what they preferred for dinner.

Who knows, some of them may have prayed, like people of faith do when they sit in vehicles or aircrafts to travel from one point to the other. They may have asked their God for journey mercies, believing He would bring them back, as we all do. But as fate would have it, their return was never to be.

What should have been a peaceful journey turned out to be a time of mourning with uncontrollable tears, in some cases.

It is sad for a young woman who may have waited for some time to meet her prince charming to lose him just weeks after she said “I do” at the altar. She now comes face to face in that short space to the reality of “until death do us part”. 

It is grave that people who were seen in public contributing to discussions and in private engaging with friends as they mourned at a colleague’s funeral would meet their own destiny just days after, under such harrowing circumstances. Who would have guessed?

But one believes that God is His own interpreter. He knows why certain things, good or bad, happen to His children. Where the human mind cannot comprehend His ways, He comes through with the assurance that He is God and He knows the beginning from the end.

As a collective, we mourn the sad departure of the eight in the devastating helicopter crash of August 6, 2025. Our deepest condolences go to their families, government, their colleagues and associates and all the people of our dear nation. 

Gloomy as it is, we believe that their souls have found rest with the Lord.  One can only pray eternal rest for them.

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The writer can be reached via email at vickywirekoandoh@yahoo.com