Ghana's finance minister made acting defence minister after fatal crash

ACCRA (Reuters) - Ghana's President John Dramani Mahama has asked Finance Minister Cassiel Ato Forson to also act as defence minister after a military helicopter crash in which the defence minister was among those killed, the president's office said on Thursday.

The helicopter was flying to the gold mining town Obuasi with five officials including Defence Minister Edward Omane Boamah and Environment, Science and Technology Minister Ibrahim Murtala Muhammed and three air force crew on board when it crashed.

Forson was tapped to serve as finance minister in January after Mahama returned to power.