At least six dead, dozens injured in crush at Ghana military recruitment event

At least six people have died and 22 others were injured during a crowd crush at a military recruitment event held at El-Wak Stadium in Accra, Ghana. Among the injured, five remain in critical condition.

Ghana’s armed forces described the incident as “tragic,” noting that it appeared to have been caused by “an unexpected surge of applicants who breached security protocols and rushed into the gates,” BBC reports.

Thousands had gathered at the stadium hoping to join the military, amid Ghana’s youth unemployment rate of approximately 32%, according to the latest government statistics. Recruitment events in the country typically draw large crowds and can result in chaotic scenes.

The deadline to apply for this event had been extended by a week to accommodate applicants who experienced difficulties with the process. Army spokesperson Capt. Veronica Adzo Arhin stated that the crush occurred ahead of the exercise’s scheduled start at 06:20 GMT.

On the same day, five people were injured in a similar crush at a separate military recruitment session in the central city of Kumasi, according to regional official Dr. Frank Amoakohene, who reported the incident on Facebook.

In Accra, distraught families gathered at the emergency ward of the 37 Military Hospital, desperate for news of their loved ones, AFP reported. Relatives wept as security officers struggled to manage the crowd outside.

Ghana’s President John Mahama visited the injured in the afternoon. Despite the fatalities, the recruitment exercise initially began but was later suspended to implement “additional measures to ensure a seamless exercise,” Capt. Arhin said. She added that an official investigation into the crush would be conducted.

By Vafa Guliyeva