Children among 31 killed at church truthful stampede in Nigeria

ABUJA, Nigeria -- A stampede Saturday at a church charity occasion in southern Nigeria left 31 individuals dead and seven injured, police advised The Related Press, a shocking improvement at a program that aimed to offer hope to the needy. One witness mentioned the useless included a pregnant girl and many youngsters.

The stampede on the event organized by the Kings Meeting Pentecostal church in Rivers state involved individuals who got here to the church’s annual “Store for Free” charity program, in keeping with Grace Iringe-Koko, a police spokeswoman.

Such events are common in Nigeria, Africa’s largest economy, where more than 80 million individuals reside in poverty, in accordance with government statistics.

Saturday’s charity program was supposed to start at 9 a.m. but dozens arrived as early as 5 a.m. to safe their place in line, Iringe-Koko stated. By some means the locked gate was broken open, making a stampede, she said.

Godwin Tepikor from Nigeria’s Nationwide Emergency Administration Agency stated first responders were in a position to evacuate the bodies of these trampled to death and convey them to the morgue. Security forces cordoned off the area.

Dozens of residents later thronged the scene, mourning the dead and offering any help they might to emergency employees. Medical doctors and emergency workers handled among the injured as they lay within the open area. Videos from the scene showed the clothing, footwear and different items meant for the beneficiaries.

One witness who solely identified himself as Daniel said "there were so many youngsters” among the lifeless. Five of the lifeless youngsters have been from one mother, he instructed the AP, including that a pregnant woman also misplaced her life.

Some church members have been attacked and injured by kinfolk of the victims after the stampede, in line with witness Christopher Eze. The church declined to comment on the situation.

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

The “Shop for Free” occasion was suspended whereas authorities investigated how the stampede occurred.

Nigeria has seen comparable stampedes in the past.

Twenty-four people died at an overcrowded church gathering in the southeastern state of Anambra in 2013, whereas at least 16 folks were killed in 2014 when a crowd obtained uncontrolled throughout a screening for presidency jobs in the nation's capital, Abuja.

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