No Fewer Than Six Lose Their Lives in Crowd Crush at Ghana Armed Forces Enlistment Event
No fewer than six people have lost their lives amid a crowd crush at a armed forces enlistment gathering held in a sports arena in the West African nation.
The midweek "tragic" incident seems to have been triggered by "an unexpected surge of candidates who breached security protocols and rushed into the entrances," announced a statement from the nation's military.
22 others were injured, including five who are in serious state.
Thousands had turned up at El-Wak stadium, in the capital, Accra, with the aspiration of enlisting in the armed forces.
The country has a rate of joblessness among young people of about thirty-two percent, the latest government statistics show, and such enlistment drives typically draw massive gatherings and frequently result in chaotic scenes.
The deadline to apply for this event was prolonged for a week to accommodate additional candidates, as some had faced difficulties in the application procedure.
Military representative Capt Veronica Adzo Arhin said the crush took place before the planned commencement time of 6:20 AM Greenwich Mean Time.
Ghana's President John Mahama has gone to see the injured in hospital.
Calm has been restored, and the enlistment process has now started.
