Kids among 31 killed at church truthful stampede in Nigeria

ABUJA, Nigeria -- A stampede Saturday at a church charity occasion in southern Nigeria left 31 people dead and 7 injured, police advised The Associated Press, a stunning improvement at a program that aimed to supply hope to the needy. One witness mentioned the lifeless included a pregnant lady and many children.

The stampede at the occasion organized by the Kings Assembly Pentecostal church in Rivers state involved people who came to the church’s annual “Store for Free” charity program, in line with Grace Iringe-Koko, a police spokeswoman.

Such occasions are common in Nigeria, Africa’s largest economic system, the place more than 80 million folks stay in poverty, in response to authorities statistics.

Saturday’s charity program was supposed to begin at 9 a.m. however dozens arrived as early as 5 a.m. to secure their place in line, Iringe-Koko stated. One way or the other the locked gate was broken open, creating a stampede, she said.

Godwin Tepikor from Nigeria’s National Emergency Management Company said first responders had been able to evacuate the bodies of those trampled to demise and produce them to the morgue. Security forces cordoned off the area.

Dozens of residents later thronged the scene, mourning the dead and offering any assistance they could to emergency employees. Docs and emergency workers treated some of the injured as they lay in the open field. Videos from the scene confirmed the clothing, sneakers and other gadgets meant for the beneficiaries.

One witness who solely identified himself as Daniel mentioned "there were so many kids” among the many dead. 5 of the useless youngsters had been from one mom, he instructed the AP, adding that a pregnant girl additionally lost her life.

Some church members were attacked and injured by kinfolk of the victims after the stampede, in line with witness Christopher Eze. The church declined to touch upon the state of affairs.

The police spokeswoman said the seven injured had been “responding to remedy."

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

Nigeria has seen similar 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 individuals were killed in 2014 when a crowd received out of control during a screening for presidency jobs within the nation's capital, Abuja.

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