No Fewer Than 6 Perish in Crowd Crush at Ghanaian Military Recruitment Event
No fewer than six individuals have died during a crowd crush at a armed forces enlistment event held in a stadium in Ghana.
The Wednesday's "devastating" incident appeared to have been caused by "an unexpected surge of applicants who breached security protocols and stormed the gates," stated a statement from Ghana's armed forces.
Twenty-two others were injured, among them 5 who remain in critical condition.
A large crowd had turned up at El-Wak stadium, in the capital, Accra, with the hope of joining the armed forces.
The country has a youth unemployment rate of approximately 32%, the most recent government statistics indicate, and such enlistment drives normally attract large crowds and frequently lead to chaotic scenes.
The closing date to submit applications for this recruitment was extended by a seven days to accommodate additional candidates, as a number had faced challenges in the application procedure.
Military representative Capt Veronica Adzo Arhin stated the crush took place before the planned commencement time of 6:20 AM Greenwich Mean Time.
Ghana's President President John Mahama has visited the wounded in hospital.
Calm has been reestablished, and the recruitment exercise has now started.
