At Least 6 Lose Their Lives in Crowd Crush at Ghanaian Military Recruitment Event
At least six people have lost their lives amid a stampede at a armed forces enlistment event held in a sports arena in the West African nation.
The Wednesday's "devastating" incident seems to have been caused by "a sudden rush of applicants who breached security protocols and stormed the gates," announced a statement from the nation's military.
22 additional individuals were hurt, among them 5 who are in serious state.
Thousands had turned up at El-Wak stadium, in the main city, Accra, with the hope of joining the military.
The country has a youth unemployment rate of approximately thirty-two percent, the latest government statistics show, and such recruitment events normally attract large crowds and frequently result in disorderly situations.
The deadline to apply for this event was extended by a seven days to accommodate additional candidates, as a number had experienced challenges in the application procedure.
Army spokesperson Captain Veronica Adzo Arhin stated the crush occurred ahead of the event's scheduled start of 06:20 GMT.
The nation's leader John Mahama has visited the injured in hospital.
Order has been restored, and the recruitment exercise has since started.