No Fewer Than Six Perish in Crowd Crush at Ghana Military Recruitment Event
No fewer than six people have died during a stampede at a military recruitment event held in a sports arena in the West African nation.
The Wednesday's "tragic" event seems to have been caused by "a sudden rush of applicants who overcame security measures and rushed into the entrances," stated a statement from Ghana's armed forces.
22 additional individuals were hurt, among them five who are in serious state.
A large crowd had turned up 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 32%, the most recent official data show, and such enlistment drives normally attract large crowds and often lead to chaotic scenes.
The deadline to apply for this recruitment was extended by a seven days to accommodate additional candidates, as some had faced challenges in the process.
Army spokesperson Capt Veronica Adzo Arhin stated the crush occurred ahead of the event's scheduled start of 6:20 AM Greenwich Mean Time.
Ghana's President President John Mahama has visited the injured in hospital.
Order has been reestablished, and the recruitment exercise has since begun.
