The Member of Parliament for Abuakwa South, Dr Kingsley Agyemang, has called for a national awakening in the fight against illegal mining following the tragic helicopter crash that claimed eight lives, including two senior government ministers, on Wednesday.

In a statement shared on Thursday, Dr Agyemang expressed profound sorrow over the incident, which took the lives of his former schoolmate, Dr Edward Omane Boamah, Ghana’s Minister for Defence, and Environment Minister Hon Ibrahim Murtala Mohammed, among other high-ranking officials.

The victims were aboard a Ghana Air Force aircraft en route to Obuasi for an official assignment aimed at tackling illegal mining, when the crash occurred in the Adansi Akrofuom District of the Ashanti Region.

Reflecting on the tragedy, the MP noted: “This painful moment reminds us of the quiet risks borne each day by those who serve our country. Their sacrifice, though often unseen, is real — and in this instance, ultimate.”

He urged the nation not to let their sacrifice pass in vain. “If these gallant men were on their way to confront the scourge of illegal mining, then the fight against galamsey must now assume the same urgency with which we respond to death itself,” he wrote.

Dr Agyemang concluded with a solemn prayer for the repose of the souls lost, affirming that true honour lies in “commitment and action.”