The National Media Commission (NMC) has called on media practitioners and the public to exercise restraint and sensitivity in reporting on the August 6, 2025, helicopter crash that claimed eight lives.
The Commission condemned the circulation of graphic images and videos on social media, describing them as a violation of the dignity of the deceased and distressing to bereaved families.
“The NMC urges both mainstream and social media, as well as the general public, to be circumspect in the dissemination of information concerning this national tragedy,” the Commission said in a statement signed by Mr Alexander Bannerman, Deputy Executive Secretary.
The statement cited Article 7.2 of the NMC’s Print Media Guidelines on Grief, which states: “In cases involving bereavement, personal grief or shock, the press must show compassion. Publication must be handled sensitively at such times.”
It also referenced Articles 12 and 16 of the Ghana Journalists Association (GJA) Code of Ethics, which guide media conduct during periods of personal grief and distress.
Article 16 states: “In cases of personal grief, distress, journalists should exercise facts and diplomacy in seeking information and publishing.”
The Commission urged media outlets to uphold professional standards and ethical codes to help ease the pain of affected families.
“In addition, we urge all members of the public to stop publishing, posting, or sharing such materials as a show of respect for the dignity of the departed,” it added.
The crash involved a Z-9 military helicopter that went down at Sikaman in the Adansi Akrofuom District of the Ashanti Region on Wednesday, August 6, 2025.
The deceased included two cabinet ministers—Dr Edward Omane Boamah, Minister for Defence, and Dr Ibrahim Murtala Mohammed, Minister for Environment, Science and Technology, as well as Alhaji Mohammed Muniru Limuna, Acting Deputy National Security Coordinator; Dr Samuel Sarpong, Vice Chairman of the NDC; Mr. Samuel Aboagye, former NDC Parliamentary Candidate for Obuasi East; Squadron Leader Peter Bafemi Anala; Flying Officer Malin Twum-Ampadu; and Sergeant Ernest Addo Mensah.
