At Least Six Perish in Crowd Crush at Ghana Armed Forces Enlistment Drive
At least 6 individuals have died amid a stampede at a armed forces enlistment event held in a sports arena in Ghana.
The Wednesday's "devastating" incident seems to have been caused by "an unexpected surge of candidates who breached security protocols and rushed into the gates," stated a release from the nation's military.
Twenty-two others were injured, including 5 who are in serious state.
A large crowd had turned up at El-Wak stadium, in the capital, the capital, with the aspiration of enlisting in the military.
The country has a rate of joblessness among young people of approximately thirty-two percent, the most recent government statistics indicate, and such recruitment events normally attract massive gatherings and frequently lead to disorderly situations.
The deadline to submit applications for this event was extended by a week to allow for more applicants, as a number had experienced challenges in the application procedure.
Army spokesperson Capt Veronica Adzo Arhin stated the crush took place ahead of the event's scheduled start of 6:20 AM Greenwich Mean Time.
Ghana's President President John Mahama has gone to see the injured in medical care.
Calm has been reestablished, and the recruitment exercise has now begun.