No Fewer Than Six Lose Their Lives in Crowd Crush at Ghanaian Armed Forces Enlistment Event
At least 6 individuals have died amid a crowd crush at a armed forces enlistment event held in a stadium in the West African nation.
The midweek "devastating" incident seems to have been caused by "an unexpected surge of candidates who breached security protocols and stormed the entrances," stated a statement from Ghana's armed forces.
22 additional individuals were injured, including five who are in serious state.
Thousands had turned up at El-Wak stadium, in the main city, the capital, with the aspiration of enlisting in the armed forces.
The country has a rate of joblessness among young people of approximately 32%, the latest government statistics show, and such recruitment events normally draw massive gatherings and frequently lead to chaotic scenes.
The deadline to submit applications for this event was prolonged for a seven days to accommodate more applicants, as some had experienced difficulties in the application procedure.
Military representative Captain Veronica Adzo Arhin stated the crush occurred before the event's scheduled start of 6:20 AM Greenwich Mean Time.
Ghana's President John Mahama has visited the injured in medical care.
Calm has been restored, and the recruitment exercise has since begun.
