🔗 Share this article

No fewer than 6 people have died amid a stampede at a armed forces enlistment gathering held in a stadium in the West African nation.

The midweek "tragic" event appeared to have been caused by "an unexpected surge of applicants who overcame security measures and stormed the entrances," stated a release from Ghana's armed forces.

22 additional individuals were injured, including 5 who remain in critical condition.

Thousands had gathered at the El-Wak sports venue, in the main city, Accra, with the aspiration of joining the armed forces.

Ghana has a rate of joblessness among young people of about thirty-two percent, the latest official data indicate, and such recruitment events normally draw massive gatherings and frequently result in chaotic scenes.

The deadline to apply for this recruitment was extended by a week to allow for more applicants, as some had experienced challenges in the application procedure.

Military representative Capt Veronica Adzo Arhin said the stampede took place ahead of the planned commencement time of 6:20 AM Greenwich Mean Time.

The nation's leader John Mahama has gone to see the wounded in hospital.

Order has been restored, and the recruitment exercise has since started.