At Least Six Perish in Crowd Crush at Ghanaian Armed Forces Enlistment Drive
At least 6 individuals have lost their lives during a crowd crush at a military recruitment event held in a sports arena in the West African nation.
The Wednesday's "devastating" incident appeared to have been caused by "a sudden rush of candidates who breached security protocols and rushed into the entrances," announced a release from Ghana's armed forces.
Twenty-two others were injured, including 5 who are in serious state.
Thousands had gathered at the El-Wak sports venue, in the main city, Accra, with the aspiration of enlisting in the military.
The country has a rate of joblessness among young people of approximately thirty-two percent, the most recent government statistics show, and such recruitment events typically draw massive gatherings and frequently lead to disorderly situations.
The closing date to submit applications for this event was prolonged for a seven days to allow for more applicants, as some had experienced challenges in the application procedure.
Army spokesperson Captain Veronica Adzo Arhin stated the stampede occurred ahead of the event's scheduled start of 06:20 GMT.
The nation's leader John Mahama has visited the wounded in hospital.
Order has been restored, and the enlistment process has now begun.
