No Fewer Than Six Perish in Crowd Crush at Ghanaian Armed Forces Enlistment Drive
At least 6 individuals have lost their lives amid a stampede at a military recruitment event held in a stadium in Ghana.
The Wednesday's "devastating" event appeared to have been caused by "an unexpected surge of applicants who breached security protocols and rushed into the gates," announced a release from Ghana's armed forces.
Twenty-two additional individuals were injured, including 5 who are in critical condition.
Thousands had turned up at El-Wak stadium, in the capital, the capital, with the aspiration of enlisting in the armed forces.
Ghana has a rate of joblessness among young people of about 32%, the most recent government statistics show, and such recruitment events normally draw large crowds and frequently result in chaotic scenes.
The deadline to apply for this recruitment was prolonged for a week to allow for additional candidates, as some had faced challenges in the application procedure.
Military representative Captain Veronica Adzo Arhin said the stampede occurred before the planned commencement time of 06:20 GMT.
Ghana's President John Mahama has gone to see the injured in hospital.
Calm has been reestablished, and the recruitment exercise has now begun.
