No Fewer Than 6 Perish in Crowd Crush at Ghanaian Armed Forces Enlistment Event
No fewer than 6 individuals have lost their lives during a stampede at a armed forces enlistment event held in a sports arena in Ghana.
The midweek "devastating" incident seems to have been caused by "an unexpected surge of applicants who overcame security measures and rushed into the entrances," stated a release from Ghana's armed forces.
22 others were hurt, including 5 who are in critical condition.
A large crowd had gathered 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 thirty-two percent, the most recent government statistics indicate, and such enlistment drives normally draw large crowds and often result in disorderly situations.
The deadline to submit applications for this recruitment was extended by a seven days to allow for additional candidates, as a number had faced difficulties in the application procedure.
Military representative Capt Veronica Adzo Arhin stated the crush took place before the planned commencement time of 6:20 AM Greenwich Mean Time.
The nation's leader John Mahama has visited the wounded in hospital.
Order has been restored, and the enlistment process has since started.