No Fewer Than 6 Lose Their Lives in Crowd Crush at Ghanaian Military Recruitment Drive
At least six individuals have lost their lives during a stampede at a military recruitment gathering held in a stadium in Ghana.
The midweek "tragic" event seems to have been triggered by "an unexpected surge of applicants who breached security protocols and stormed the entrances," stated a release from the nation's military.
Twenty-two additional individuals were injured, among them 5 who remain in critical condition.
Thousands had turned up at El-Wak stadium, in the capital, the capital, with the aspiration of joining the armed forces.
The country has a youth unemployment rate of approximately thirty-two percent, the most recent official data indicate, and such recruitment events normally attract massive gatherings and frequently result in chaotic scenes.
The closing date to submit applications for this event was extended by a week to accommodate more applicants, as a number had faced challenges in the application procedure.
Army spokesperson Captain Veronica Adzo Arhin said the stampede occurred ahead of the event's scheduled start of 6:20 AM Greenwich Mean Time.
Ghana's President President John Mahama has visited the injured in hospital.
Order has been reestablished, and the enlistment process has now started.
