No Fewer Than 6 Lose Their Lives in Crowd Crush at Ghanaian Armed Forces Enlistment Event
No fewer than 6 individuals have died amid a crowd crush at a military recruitment event held in a sports arena in the West African nation.
The Wednesday's "tragic" incident appeared to have been caused by "an unexpected surge of candidates who overcame security measures and rushed into the gates," announced a release from the nation's military.
Twenty-two additional individuals were injured, among them 5 who remain in critical condition.
Thousands had turned up at the El-Wak sports venue, in the capital, Accra, with the aspiration of enlisting in the armed forces.
The country has a rate of joblessness among young people of approximately thirty-two percent, the latest official data show, and such enlistment drives typically draw large crowds and frequently lead to chaotic scenes.
The deadline to submit applications for this event was prolonged for a seven days to allow for additional candidates, as a number had faced difficulties in the application procedure.
Army spokesperson Capt Veronica Adzo Arhin stated the stampede occurred ahead of the planned commencement time of 6:20 AM Greenwich Mean Time.
Ghana's President President John Mahama has gone to see the injured in hospital.
Order has been reestablished, and the enlistment process has now begun.
