No Fewer Than 6 Lose Their Lives in Stampede at Ghanaian Armed Forces Enlistment Event
No fewer than six people have died amid a stampede at a military recruitment event held in a sports arena in the West African nation.
The Wednesday's "devastating" incident seems to have been triggered by "a sudden rush of applicants who overcame security measures and stormed the gates," announced a statement from Ghana's armed forces.
Twenty-two others were injured, including five who remain in critical condition.
A large crowd had turned up at El-Wak stadium, in the capital, Accra, with the aspiration of joining the armed forces.
Ghana has a rate of joblessness among young people of approximately thirty-two percent, the most recent government statistics indicate, and such enlistment drives normally attract massive gatherings and frequently result in disorderly situations.
The closing date to apply for this recruitment was extended by a seven days to accommodate additional candidates, as a number had faced difficulties in the application procedure.
Military representative Capt Veronica Adzo Arhin stated the stampede occurred before the event's scheduled start of 6:20 AM Greenwich Mean Time.
Ghana's President President John Mahama has visited the wounded in hospital.
Order has been restored, and the enlistment process has since begun.
