No Fewer Than Six Perish in Stampede at Ghana Armed Forces Enlistment Event

No fewer than 6 individuals have lost their lives amid a crowd crush at a military recruitment event held in a sports arena in the West African nation.

The midweek "tragic" incident appeared to have been caused by "a sudden rush of applicants who breached security protocols and rushed into the entrances," announced a statement from Ghana's armed forces.

Twenty-two additional individuals were injured, among them 5 who are in critical condition.

Thousands had turned up at El-Wak stadium, in the capital, Accra, with the aspiration of enlisting in the military.

The country has a youth unemployment rate of about thirty-two percent, the most recent official data indicate, and such recruitment events typically attract massive gatherings and frequently lead to disorderly situations.

The deadline to apply for this event was extended by a week to allow for more applicants, as a number had faced challenges in the process.

Military representative Capt Veronica Adzo Arhin said the stampede took place ahead of the event's scheduled start of 6:20 AM Greenwich Mean Time.

Ghana's President President John Mahama has gone to see the wounded in hospital.

Calm has been restored, and the recruitment exercise has since begun.