No Fewer Than 6 Lose Their Lives in Crowd Crush at Ghana Armed Forces Enlistment Event
No fewer than 6 individuals have died during a crowd crush at a military recruitment gathering 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 breached security protocols and stormed the gates," stated a statement from Ghana's armed forces.
22 others were hurt, among them 5 who remain in serious state.
Thousands had turned up at the El-Wak sports venue, in the capital, the capital, with the hope of joining the military.
Ghana has a youth unemployment rate of about thirty-two percent, the latest official data indicate, and such recruitment events normally attract large crowds and frequently result in disorderly situations.
The deadline to submit applications for this event was extended by a week to allow for more applicants, as some had experienced challenges in the process.
Army spokesperson Capt Veronica Adzo Arhin stated the crush took place ahead of the event's scheduled start of 06:20 GMT.
The nation's leader President John Mahama has gone to see the wounded in hospital.
Order has been restored, and the enlistment process has since begun.
