The death toll from Wednesday’s Ghana Armed Forces (GAF) recruitment stampede at the El-Wak Sports Stadium in Accra has risen to 12, according to fresh reports from Channel One News.
The tragic incident occurred on Wednesday, November 12, 2025, when thousands of eager applicants thronged the stadium for the 2025/2026 GAF recruitment exercise.
Initial reports confirmed six deaths, but new information indicates that six more victims have since been pronounced dead, while several others remain in critical condition at the 37 Military Hospital.
Sources say the bodies of the deceased have been deposited at the hospital’s morgue, and emergency treatment is ongoing for those injured. Security personnel quickly cordoned off the area and blocked major access roads leading to the stadium to maintain order and facilitate rescue operations.
Preliminary investigations suggest that the stampede was triggered when a large crowd of applicants breached security barriers and surged toward the main gates ahead of the scheduled screening time. The combination of overcrowding, limited crowd control, and panic resulted in dozens being trapped and injured.
Eyewitnesses reported scenes of chaos as applicants struggled to gain entry, with security forces battling to restore calm amid screams for help.
In an earlier statement signed by Captain Veronica Adzo Arhin (Ghana Navy), Acting Director General of Public Relations for the GAF, the military expressed deep regret over the tragic event and extended condolences to the families of the deceased.
“The Ghana Armed Forces deeply regrets the unfortunate incident and conveys its sympathies to all affected families. We are committed to ensuring that such tragedies do not recur,” the statement said.
Meanwhile, Colonel Evelyn Ntiamoah Asamoah, Acting Director General of Public Relations, explained that the recruitment deadline had been extended by one week after the initial October 31 cutoff due to technical issues on the online application portal.
“The Ghana Armed Forces has extended the deadline for the ongoing recruitment exercise by one week due to some technical challenges encountered on the recruitment portal during the initial period,” the military noted.
Local authorities, in collaboration with the military, have launched an in-depth investigation into the circumstances surrounding the tragedy to identify lapses in crowd management and prevent future occurrences.
Families of the victims, eyewitnesses, and civil society groups have since called for stricter safety measures, including better event planning and improved crowd control protocols for national recruitment and public gatherings.
The El-Wak Stadium, a frequent venue for large-scale national events, has previously hosted several government and security recruitment exercises. This latest tragedy, however, has reignited discussions about public safety management in Ghana during high-turnout events.
