No Fewer Than 6 Lose Their Lives in Crowd Crush at Ghana Military Recruitment Drive
No fewer than 6 people have died amid a crowd crush at a armed forces enlistment gathering held in a stadium in Ghana.
The midweek "tragic" event seems to have been triggered by "an unexpected surge of candidates who overcame security measures and stormed the gates," stated a statement from the nation's military.
Twenty-two others were hurt, among them 5 who are in serious state.
Thousands had gathered at El-Wak stadium, in the main city, Accra, with the aspiration of joining the armed forces.
Ghana has a youth unemployment rate of approximately thirty-two percent, the most recent government statistics show, and such enlistment drives typically draw massive gatherings and often lead to chaotic scenes.
The deadline to submit applications for this event was prolonged for a seven days to allow for additional candidates, as a number had experienced difficulties in the application procedure.
Army spokesperson Captain Veronica Adzo Arhin stated the crush occurred ahead of the planned commencement time of 6:20 AM Greenwich Mean Time.
Ghana's President John Mahama has gone to see the injured in hospital.
Order has been restored, and the recruitment exercise has now begun.
