The Chief of Defence Staff, Lt. General William Agyapong has explained the circumstances which necessitated the use of cocoa sacks to carry the remains of the eight men who lost their lives in the August 6 helicopter crash.
According to Major Agyapong, although the personnel at the scene had body bags which were the appropriate tool to be used, the extent to which the bodies were burnt could not make it conducive for the body bags to be used.
He emphasised that the rescue team did their best to use the available material which included the cocoa bags to carry the remains of the victims.
Major Agyapong noted that considering the fact that night was drawing nigh and the remains could not be left at the scene, the rescue team resorted to the “available and appropriate material” to convey the bodies from the thick forest.
he CDS made the clarification when executives of the Ghana Journalists Association called on him today, Wednesday, August 13, 2025.
“Let me just round it up by saying that we had to do the recovery efforts with the available and appropriate material we have on the ground. 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.
“It was in the thick forest, it was getting late. We had the option of leaving our remains there till the following day and we know what would have happened to the bodies.
“So the team that was up there assessing the situation decided to use the available material that they could lay hands on to start to descend to the high ground,” he stated.
He said the rescue team are currently expanding their search to ensure that they retrieve all remains and parts of the aircraft.
“It was getting very late. The place had been sealed off, I would not use the word cordoned off because we didn’t even know the extent to which the wreckage had dispersed.
As I speak today, every day the personnel on the ground keep expanding the search because we don’t know exactly where all the remains, the bits, the parts of the aircraft that were remained,” he added.
He continued: “At the foot of the hill, they met the medical team and with the body bags that they had some of which have been also sent from AngloGold Ashanti they kept our fallen heroes in those bags decently.
“We kept them in ambulances and sent them to Kumasi where they were kept in coffins entrapped in national colours befitting their status as patriots of this country. Subsequently, we moved them to Accra and you saw the kind of reception that was arranged for them back in Accra.”
The Chief of Defence Staff admitted that in the course of the transportation of the remains, it is possible that some procedures may have been breached considering the “hurried” manner in which things were done.
“Let me say that all these things were done hurriedly. There might have been some mistakes. In the morning when the aircraft was taking off, nobody expected any such disaster but from the crash to Accra, it is possible that somethings might have been done that were not in conformity with our culture,” he admitted.
However, Major William Agyapong believes that the rescue team and personnel did their best with the resources at their disposal.
“But I must tell you that those who were on the ground assessed the situation and from where I stand, looking back I think that they did the best with the resources that they had at hand,” he remarked.
Source:onuaonline.com
