No Fewer Than 6 Lose Their Lives in Crowd Crush at Ghanaian Military Recruitment Drive
No fewer than six people have lost their lives during a crowd crush at a military recruitment gathering held in a sports arena in Ghana.
The midweek "tragic" incident appeared to have been caused by "a sudden rush of applicants who breached security protocols and stormed the gates," announced a statement from Ghana's armed forces.
Twenty-two additional individuals were hurt, among them five who are in critical condition.
Thousands had turned up at El-Wak stadium, in the capital, Accra, with the aspiration of enlisting in the military.
Ghana has a youth unemployment rate of about 32%, the most recent official data indicate, and such enlistment drives normally draw large crowds and often lead to chaotic scenes.
The deadline to submit applications for this event was prolonged for a week to allow for additional candidates, as a number had faced challenges in the application procedure.
Army spokesperson Captain Veronica Adzo Arhin said the stampede took place before the planned commencement time of 6:20 AM Greenwich Mean Time.
Ghana's President President John Mahama has gone to see the wounded in hospital.
Order has been restored, and the recruitment exercise has since begun.
