No Fewer Than Six Lose Their Lives in Stampede at Ghana Armed Forces Enlistment Drive
No fewer than 6 people have lost their lives amid a crowd crush at a military recruitment gathering held in a stadium in the West African nation.
The midweek "devastating" incident appeared to have been caused by "an unexpected surge of applicants who breached security protocols and rushed into the entrances," announced a statement from the nation's military.
Twenty-two others were hurt, among them 5 who are in critical condition.
A large crowd had gathered at El-Wak stadium, in the capital, the capital, with the aspiration of joining the military.
Ghana has a rate of joblessness among young people of approximately 32%, the most recent official data show, and such enlistment drives typically draw massive gatherings and often lead to chaotic scenes.
The closing date to apply for this event was prolonged for a seven days to accommodate additional candidates, as some had experienced difficulties in the application procedure.
Army spokesperson Captain Veronica Adzo Arhin stated the stampede took place before the event's scheduled start of 06:20 GMT.
The nation's leader President John Mahama has gone to see the wounded in hospital.
Order has been restored, and the recruitment exercise has since begun.
