No Fewer Than 6 Lose Their Lives in Stampede at Ghanaian Military Recruitment Event
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 Wednesday's "devastating" event appeared to have been caused by "an unexpected surge of applicants who overcame security measures and stormed the gates," stated a statement from Ghana's armed forces.
22 others were hurt, among them 5 who are in critical condition.
A large crowd had gathered at El-Wak stadium, in the capital, Accra, with the hope of joining the military.
The country has a youth unemployment rate of about 32%, the latest government statistics show, and such enlistment drives typically attract large crowds and frequently lead to disorderly situations.
The deadline to submit applications for this event was extended by a seven days to accommodate additional candidates, as some had faced challenges in the application procedure.
Army spokesperson Captain Veronica Adzo Arhin stated the crush occurred before the event's scheduled start of 6:20 AM Greenwich Mean Time.
The nation's leader John Mahama has visited the injured in hospital.
Order has been reestablished, and the recruitment exercise has now begun.