Youngsters among 31 killed at church honest stampede in Nigeria

ABUJA, Nigeria -- A stampede Saturday at a church charity occasion in southern Nigeria left 31 folks dead and seven injured, police advised The Related Press, a stunning growth at a program that aimed to offer hope to the needy. One witness mentioned the dead included a pregnant lady 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, based on Grace Iringe-Koko, a police spokeswoman.

Such events are widespread in Nigeria, Africa’s largest economy, where greater than 80 million folks dwell in poverty, based on authorities statistics.

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

Godwin Tepikor from Nigeria’s Nationwide Emergency Management Company stated first responders have been able to evacuate the our bodies of these trampled to demise and bring them to the morgue. Security forces cordoned off the realm.

Dozens of residents later thronged the scene, mourning the useless and offering any assistance they could to emergency workers. Docs and emergency employees treated among the injured as they lay in the open area. Videos from the scene showed the clothing, shoes and different gadgets meant for the beneficiaries.

One witness who only recognized himself as Daniel stated "there have been so many kids” among the many lifeless. Five of the lifeless kids had been from one mother, he advised the AP, adding that a pregnant girl also lost her life.

Some church members were attacked and injured by kin 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” event was suspended whereas authorities investigated how the stampede occurred.

Nigeria has seen similar stampedes in the past.

Twenty-four individuals died at an overcrowded church gathering in the southeastern state of Anambra in 2013, while a minimum of 16 folks had been killed in 2014 when a crowd acquired uncontrolled throughout a screening for government jobs within the nation's capital, Abuja.

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