Children among 31 killed at church honest stampede in Nigeria

ABUJA, Nigeria -- A stampede Saturday at a church charity event in southern Nigeria left 31 people lifeless and seven injured, police informed The Related Press, a shocking development at a program that aimed to offer hope to the needy. One witness stated the dead included a pregnant girl and lots of kids.

The stampede at the occasion organized by the Kings Assembly Pentecostal church in Rivers state concerned individuals who got here to the church’s annual “Shop for Free” charity program, in response to Grace Iringe-Koko, a police spokeswoman.

Such events are widespread in Nigeria, Africa’s largest economic system, where more than 80 million individuals stay in poverty, in response to government statistics.

Saturday’s charity program was supposed to begin at 9 a.m. but dozens arrived as early as 5 a.m. to secure their place in line, Iringe-Koko said. In some way the locked gate was damaged open, creating a stampede, she mentioned.

Godwin Tepikor from Nigeria’s Nationwide Emergency Administration Company stated first responders were capable of evacuate the bodies of these trampled to dying and bring them to the morgue. Safety forces cordoned off the world.

Dozens of residents later thronged the scene, mourning the lifeless and offering any assistance they might to emergency employees. Medical doctors and emergency staff treated some of the injured as they lay in the open area. Movies from the scene showed the clothes, shoes and other items meant for the beneficiaries.

One witness who solely identified himself as Daniel stated "there were so many youngsters” among the lifeless. 5 of the dead children were from one mother, he instructed the AP, including that a pregnant woman additionally lost her life.

Some church members were attacked and injured by family of the victims after the stampede, according to witness Christopher Eze. The church declined to touch upon the situation.

The police spokeswoman stated the seven injured were “responding to treatment."

The “Store for Free” event was suspended whereas authorities investigated how the stampede occurred.

Nigeria has seen comparable stampedes in the past.

Twenty-four folks died at an overcrowded church gathering within the southeastern state of Anambra in 2013, whereas no less than 16 people have been killed in 2014 when a crowd acquired uncontrolled during a screening for government jobs in the nation's capital, Abuja.

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Associated Press journalist Hilary Uguru in Warri, Nigeria, contributed.