At Least 6 Lose Their Lives in Stampede at Ghana Armed Forces Enlistment Event
At least 6 people have died amid a crowd crush at a armed forces enlistment gathering held in a sports arena in Ghana.
The midweek "devastating" incident seems to have been triggered by "an unexpected surge of applicants who breached security protocols and rushed into the entrances," announced a statement from the nation's military.
Twenty-two additional individuals were injured, including five who remain in serious state.
A large crowd had turned up at El-Wak stadium, in the main city, the capital, with the aspiration of enlisting in the military.
The country has a rate of joblessness among young people of about thirty-two percent, the latest government statistics show, and such enlistment drives normally draw massive gatherings and frequently lead to disorderly situations.
The deadline to apply for this event was extended by a week to allow for more applicants, as a number had experienced difficulties in the process.
Army spokesperson Capt Veronica Adzo Arhin stated the stampede occurred before the event's scheduled start of 06:20 GMT.
The nation's leader President John Mahama has visited the wounded in hospital.
Order has been restored, and the recruitment exercise has now started.
