Youngsters among 31 killed at church fair stampede in Nigeria

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

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

Such occasions are frequent in Nigeria, Africa’s largest economic system, the place greater than 80 million people live in poverty, in response to 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 said. Somehow the locked gate was damaged open, creating a stampede, she said.

Godwin Tepikor from Nigeria’s Nationwide Emergency Administration Agency mentioned first responders have been able to evacuate the bodies of these trampled to death and produce them to the morgue. Security forces cordoned off the area.

Dozens of residents later thronged the scene, mourning the lifeless and offering any help they might to emergency staff. Doctors and emergency workers handled a few of the injured as they lay within the open field. Movies from the scene showed the clothing, sneakers and other items meant for the beneficiaries.

One witness who solely identified himself as Daniel mentioned "there were so many youngsters” among the dead. Five of the useless kids have been from one mom, he informed the AP, adding that a pregnant woman also lost her life.

Some church members have been attacked and injured by relations of the victims after the stampede, based on witness Christopher Eze. The church declined to touch upon the situation.

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

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

Nigeria has seen similar stampedes prior to now.

Twenty-four individuals died at an overcrowded church gathering within the southeastern state of Anambra in 2013, while at the least 16 folks had been killed in 2014 when a crowd obtained out of control 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.