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No fewer than six individuals have lost their lives amid a crowd crush at a armed forces enlistment event held in a sports arena in Ghana.

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

22 others were injured, among them 5 who remain in critical condition.

Thousands had gathered at El-Wak stadium, in the capital, the capital, with the hope of joining the armed forces.

Ghana has a youth unemployment rate of approximately thirty-two percent, the most recent official data indicate, and such enlistment drives normally draw large crowds and often lead to chaotic scenes.

The deadline to apply for this recruitment was prolonged for a seven days to accommodate additional candidates, as some had experienced challenges in the application procedure.

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

The nation's leader President John Mahama has gone to see the injured in medical care.

Calm has been reestablished, and the recruitment exercise has since started.