At Least Six Lose Their Lives in Crowd Crush at Ghanaian Armed Forces Enlistment Drive
At least 6 individuals have died amid a stampede at a armed forces enlistment gathering held in a sports arena in the West African nation.
The midweek "devastating" incident seems to have been caused by "an unexpected surge of applicants who breached security protocols and stormed the entrances," announced a statement from the nation's military.
Twenty-two additional individuals were injured, among them 5 who remain in critical condition.
A large crowd had gathered at the El-Wak sports venue, in the capital, the capital, with the aspiration of enlisting in the military.
Ghana has a rate of joblessness among young people of approximately 32%, the most recent government statistics show, and such recruitment events typically attract massive gatherings and often lead to chaotic scenes.
The closing date to submit applications for this recruitment was prolonged for a week to accommodate more applicants, as some had experienced challenges in the application procedure.
Army spokesperson Captain Veronica Adzo Arhin said the stampede occurred before the planned commencement time of 6:20 AM Greenwich Mean Time.
Ghana's President John Mahama has visited the wounded in medical care.
Order has been reestablished, and the recruitment exercise has since started.
