The National Youth Wing of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) has called for an immediate investigation into a tragic stampede at the El-Wak Sports Stadium that left at least six young people dead during a Ghana Armed Forces recruitment exercise.

In a press statement released today, the youth wing expressed grief and dismay over the incident, which occurred as thousands of applicants gathered for a physical screening process.

Some reports suggest the death toll may be as high as twelve.

The group described the tragedy as "very unfortunate" and unacceptable in an "era of advanced technology," pointing to circulating social media videos that showed massive crowds of young Ghanaians struggling for an advantageous position at the venue.

"The fact that so many people had to journey from far and near across the country to the venue" was noted as a particularly worrying aspect of the event's organisation.

The NPP Youth Wing is now urgently calling on the caretaker Minister of Defence to launch a full-scale inquiry to "unravel the circumstances leading to this tragedy."

The statement posed several critical questions that it says "are begging for answers," including:

What crowd control measures were put in place?

Why was the process not conducted in batches, given that the number of applicants was known in advance?

Did officers on duty mishandle the applicants in a way that triggered the stampede?

"We need an inquest into this serious issue to prevent the recurrence of the same," the statement read.

All the youth were looking for was an opportunity to serve their nation and also take care of themselves and their families.

The pursuit of dreams and opportunities should not be perilous."

The Youth Wing extended its sincere condolences to the bereaved families and well wishes to those injured, while counting on the authorities' "prompt action" to address the matter.

The statement was signed by Salam Mustapha, the National Youth Organiser of the NPP