No Fewer Than Six Lose Their Lives in Crowd Crush at Ghanaian Military Recruitment Drive
No fewer than 6 people have died amid a stampede at a armed forces enlistment event held in a sports arena in Ghana.
The midweek "devastating" incident seems to have been triggered by "an unexpected surge of applicants who overcame security measures and stormed the gates," announced a release from the nation's military.
Twenty-two additional individuals were injured, among them 5 who are in critical condition.
Thousands had turned up at the El-Wak sports venue, in the capital, Accra, with the hope of joining the armed forces.
Ghana has a rate of joblessness among young people of about 32%, the latest government statistics show, and such recruitment events normally attract large crowds and often lead to disorderly situations.
The deadline to apply for this event was prolonged for a week to allow for additional candidates, as some had faced difficulties in the application procedure.
Army spokesperson Capt Veronica Adzo Arhin said the stampede took place ahead of the planned commencement time of 6:20 AM Greenwich Mean Time.
Ghana's President John Mahama has visited the wounded in hospital.
Order has been reestablished, and the recruitment exercise has now started.