No Fewer Than Six Perish in Crowd Crush at Ghana Armed Forces Enlistment Drive
No fewer than 6 people have lost their lives during a stampede at a military recruitment event held in a sports arena in the West African nation.
The Wednesday's "devastating" event seems to have been triggered by "an unexpected surge of applicants who overcame security measures and stormed the entrances," announced a statement from Ghana's armed forces.
Twenty-two others were hurt, among them 5 who are 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 armed forces.
Ghana has a rate of joblessness among young people of about thirty-two percent, the latest government statistics show, and such enlistment drives typically attract massive gatherings and often lead to chaotic scenes.
The closing date to submit applications for this recruitment was prolonged for a seven days to allow for additional candidates, as a number had experienced difficulties in the application procedure.
Army spokesperson Capt Veronica Adzo Arhin said the stampede took place before the planned commencement time of 6:20 AM Greenwich Mean Time.
Ghana's President John Mahama has gone to see the injured in medical care.
Calm has been restored, and the enlistment process has now started.
