At Least 6 Lose Their Lives in Stampede at Ghana Armed Forces Enlistment Event
At least six people have lost their lives amid a crowd crush at a armed forces enlistment gathering held in a stadium in Ghana.
The Wednesday's "devastating" event seems to have been triggered by "an unexpected surge of applicants who breached security protocols and stormed the entrances," announced a statement from Ghana's armed forces.
Twenty-two additional individuals were injured, including five who remain in critical condition.
Thousands 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 youth unemployment rate of about thirty-two percent, the latest government statistics show, and such enlistment drives normally attract large crowds and often result in disorderly situations.
The closing date to apply for this event was prolonged for a week to allow for additional candidates, as a number had faced difficulties in the process.
Military representative Captain Veronica Adzo Arhin said the crush occurred ahead of the event's scheduled start of 6:20 AM Greenwich Mean Time.
The nation's leader President John Mahama has visited the injured in medical care.
Calm has been reestablished, and the enlistment process has since begun.
