Children among 31 killed at church fair stampede in Nigeria

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

The stampede on 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 accordance with Grace Iringe-Koko, a police spokeswoman.

Such events are common in Nigeria, Africa’s largest financial system, the place greater than 80 million individuals stay in poverty, in keeping with government 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. Somehow the locked gate was damaged open, creating a stampede, she stated.

Godwin Tepikor from Nigeria’s Nationwide Emergency Management Company said first responders have been able to evacuate the bodies of these trampled to loss of life and produce them to the morgue. Safety forces cordoned off the area.

Dozens of residents later thronged the scene, mourning the lifeless and offering any help they could to emergency staff. Medical doctors and emergency staff handled some of the injured as they lay in the open discipline. Movies from the scene showed the clothes, shoes and different objects meant for the beneficiaries.

One witness who solely identified himself as Daniel said "there were so many children” among the many dead. 5 of the dead kids had been from one mother, he informed the AP, including that a pregnant girl additionally lost her life.

Some church members have been attacked and injured by family members of the victims after the stampede, in keeping with witness Christopher Eze. The church declined to touch upon the scenario.

The police spokeswoman mentioned the seven injured have been “responding to therapy."

The “Shop for Free” event 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 within the southeastern state of Anambra in 2013, while not less than 16 individuals were killed in 2014 when a crowd obtained uncontrolled during a screening for presidency jobs in the nation's capital, Abuja.

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