Children among 31 killed at church truthful stampede in Nigeria

ABUJA, Nigeria -- A stampede Saturday at a church charity event in southern Nigeria left 31 individuals dead and seven injured, police instructed The Associated Press, a surprising development at a program that aimed to offer hope to the needy. One witness mentioned the lifeless included a pregnant girl and plenty of youngsters.

The stampede on the occasion organized by the Kings Meeting Pentecostal church in Rivers state involved people 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 common in Nigeria, Africa’s largest financial system, the place more than 80 million individuals stay in poverty, in accordance with authorities statistics.

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

Godwin Tepikor from Nigeria’s National Emergency Management Agency stated first responders have been in a position to evacuate the bodies of those trampled to loss of life and convey them to the morgue. Security forces cordoned off the realm.

Dozens of residents later thronged the scene, mourning the dead and providing any assistance they may to emergency employees. Docs and emergency workers treated a number of the injured as they lay in the open area. Videos from the scene confirmed the clothes, footwear 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 dead. Five of the dead kids were from one mom, he told the AP, including that a pregnant woman also lost her life.

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

The police spokeswoman said the seven injured have been “responding to treatment."

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

Nigeria has seen related stampedes prior to now.

Twenty-four individuals died at an overcrowded church gathering in the southeastern state of Anambra in 2013, whereas at the very least 16 individuals had been killed in 2014 when a crowd got out of control throughout a screening for presidency jobs within the nation's capital, Abuja.

—

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