No Fewer Than Six Perish in Crowd Crush at Ghana Armed Forces Enlistment Event
No fewer than six people have died during a stampede at a military recruitment event held in a stadium in the West African nation.
The midweek "tragic" event appeared to have been caused by "an unexpected surge of applicants who overcame security measures and rushed into the entrances," announced a release from the nation's military.
22 others were injured, including five who remain in serious state.
A large crowd had gathered at El-Wak stadium, in the main city, the capital, with the aspiration of enlisting in the armed forces.
The country has a rate of joblessness among young people of about thirty-two percent, the most recent official data indicate, and such recruitment events typically attract massive gatherings and frequently result in disorderly situations.
The deadline to apply for this event was prolonged for a week to allow for more applicants, as some had experienced challenges in the application procedure.
Military representative Captain Veronica Adzo Arhin said the stampede occurred before the event's scheduled start of 6:20 AM Greenwich Mean Time.
The nation's leader President John Mahama has gone to see the wounded in hospital.
Order has been restored, and the enlistment process has now begun.
