At Least 6 Perish in Crowd Crush at Ghanaian Military Recruitment Event
No fewer than 6 individuals have lost their lives amid a crowd crush at a armed forces enlistment event held in a sports arena in the West African nation.
The midweek "devastating" incident seems to have been caused by "a sudden rush of applicants who breached security protocols and stormed the gates," announced a statement from Ghana's armed forces.
Twenty-two additional individuals were hurt, among them five who remain in serious state.
A large crowd had turned up at El-Wak stadium, in the capital, Accra, with the hope of enlisting in the armed forces.
The country has a rate of joblessness among young people of about thirty-two percent, the latest official data show, and such enlistment drives normally attract large crowds and often lead to disorderly situations.
The closing date to submit applications for this event was prolonged for a week to accommodate more applicants, as a number had faced challenges in the application procedure.
Army spokesperson Captain Veronica Adzo Arhin stated the crush occurred ahead of the event's scheduled start of 6:20 AM Greenwich Mean Time.
Ghana's President John Mahama has gone to see the wounded in medical care.
Calm has been restored, and the recruitment exercise has since started.
