Children among 31 killed at church honest stampede in Nigeria

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

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 line with Grace Iringe-Koko, a police spokeswoman.

Such events are frequent in Nigeria, Africa’s largest economy, the place greater than 80 million people reside in poverty, based on authorities statistics.

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

Godwin Tepikor from Nigeria’s National Emergency Management Agency stated first responders were able to evacuate the our bodies of those trampled to demise and convey them to the morgue. Security forces cordoned off the realm.

Dozens of residents later thronged the scene, mourning the lifeless and providing any assistance they may to emergency staff. Medical doctors and emergency staff handled a number of the injured as they lay in the open discipline. Videos from the scene confirmed the clothes, sneakers and different gadgets meant for the beneficiaries.

One witness who only recognized himself as Daniel mentioned "there have been so many kids” among the many lifeless. 5 of the useless children were from one mom, he informed the AP, adding that a pregnant girl additionally lost her life.

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

The police spokeswoman stated the seven injured had been “responding to therapy."

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

Nigeria has seen related stampedes up to now.

Twenty-four individuals died at an overcrowded church gathering in the southeastern state of Anambra in 2013, while no less than 16 people were killed in 2014 when a crowd obtained out of control throughout a screening for government jobs within the nation's capital, Abuja.

—

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