Accra: Media Relations Officer at the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources, Paa Kwesi Schandorf, has claimed that a man he described as appearing drunk or mentally unstable predicted that people would die just hours before an event connected to the August 6 helicopter tragedy. In an interview on Joy Prime on August 6, 2026, and monitored by GhanaWeb, Schandorf recalled saying that the incident happened about two to three hours before the programme was scheduled to begin.
According to Ghana Web, Schandorf recounted that the man approached him at the venue where he was serving as the master of ceremonies (MC) and claimed the event would not be successful because people would die before it began. Schandorf added that he ignored the warning because of the man's appearance and behaviour. He explained that the man, who appeared intoxicated and disheveled, approached him early at the venue and made the ominous prediction.
"So, I got to the venue very early. Of course, as an MC, I needed to familiarise myself with the atmosphere and then do a couple of things. Now, when we got there, there was this guy who appeared like a junkie," Schandorf said. He further described the man as wearing white, looking untidy, and heavily intoxicated, which made it easy for anyone to dismiss what he was saying. Schandorf mentioned that this encounter has stayed with him because of the tragic events that followed.
He continued by saying that neither he nor the programme coordinator paid attention to the man's comments because they were focused on preparations for the event and the expected arrival of invited dignitaries. These dignitaries, including senior government officials, later died in the helicopter crash. Schandorf noted that the man returned about an hour later to remind him of his earlier prediction, suggesting that the tragedy had indeed occurred.
Schandorf's comments come a year after the tragic August 6, 2025, helicopter crash, which claimed the lives of all eight people on board. The victims included Defence Minister Dr Edward Omane Boamah, Minister of Environment, Science and Technology Dr Ibrahim Murtala Muhammed, Acting Deputy National Security Coordinator Alhaji Muniru Limuna, three military pilots, and two other government officials. The delegation was travelling to an official government event on the mining sector when the helicopter crashed in the Adansi forest area of the Ashanti Region.