No Fewer Than 6 Lose Their Lives in Crowd Crush at Ghanaian Military Recruitment Event
No fewer than six people have died amid a crowd crush at a armed forces enlistment event held in a sports arena in the West African nation.
The Wednesday's "devastating" event appeared to have been triggered by "an unexpected surge of candidates who overcame security measures and stormed the gates," stated a statement from the nation's military.
Twenty-two others were hurt, among them 5 who are in serious state.
Thousands had turned up at the El-Wak sports venue, in the main city, Accra, with the aspiration of joining the military.
Ghana has a youth unemployment rate of about thirty-two percent, the most recent government statistics indicate, and such enlistment drives normally draw large crowds and frequently result in disorderly situations.
The closing date to apply for this recruitment was prolonged for a week to allow for additional candidates, as some had faced difficulties in the application procedure.
Army spokesperson Captain Veronica Adzo Arhin said the stampede occurred before the planned commencement time of 6:20 AM Greenwich Mean Time.
The nation's leader President John Mahama has gone to see the injured in hospital.
Calm has been restored, and the enlistment process has since begun.