No Fewer Than 6 Perish in Crowd Crush at Ghana Military Recruitment Event
No fewer than 6 people have lost their lives during a crowd crush at a military recruitment gathering held in a stadium in Ghana.
The Wednesday's "devastating" incident appeared to have been caused by "an unexpected surge of applicants who breached security protocols and rushed into the gates," announced a release from the nation's military.
22 others were injured, among them 5 who remain in serious state.
A large crowd had turned up at El-Wak stadium, in the main city, Accra, with the hope of joining the military.
The country has a youth unemployment rate of approximately thirty-two percent, the most recent official data show, and such enlistment drives typically draw large crowds and often result in disorderly situations.
The deadline to apply for this event was prolonged for a seven days to allow for additional candidates, as some had faced challenges in the application procedure.
Army spokesperson Capt 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 hospital.
Order has been reestablished, and the recruitment exercise has now begun.
