No Fewer Than 6 Perish in Crowd Crush at Ghana Armed Forces Enlistment Drive
At least 6 people have died during a stampede at a military recruitment event held in a stadium in the West African nation.
The midweek "devastating" incident seems to have been caused by "an unexpected surge of candidates who breached security protocols and rushed into the gates," stated a statement from the nation's military.
22 additional individuals were injured, including five who are in critical condition.
A large crowd had turned up at El-Wak stadium, in the main city, Accra, with the hope of joining the armed forces.
Ghana has a rate of joblessness among young people of about 32%, the latest official data show, and such enlistment drives typically draw massive gatherings and often lead to disorderly situations.
The closing date to submit applications for this recruitment was prolonged for a seven days to accommodate additional candidates, as some had experienced difficulties in the application procedure.
Military representative Capt Veronica Adzo Arhin stated the stampede took place ahead of the event's scheduled start of 6:20 AM Greenwich Mean Time.
The nation's leader John Mahama has gone to see the wounded in hospital.
Order has been restored, and the recruitment exercise has since started.