Children among 31 killed at church fair stampede in Nigeria

ABUJA, Nigeria -- A stampede Saturday at a church charity occasion in southern Nigeria left 31 folks lifeless and 7 injured, police told The Related Press, a stunning growth at a program that aimed to offer hope to the needy. One witness stated the dead included a pregnant woman and plenty of children.

The stampede at the occasion 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 response to Grace Iringe-Koko, a police spokeswoman.

Such occasions are common in Nigeria, Africa’s largest economic system, the place greater than 80 million people reside in poverty, in line with government statistics.

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

Godwin Tepikor from Nigeria’s National Emergency Administration Company stated first responders had been capable of evacuate the bodies of these trampled to death and produce them to the morgue. Security forces cordoned off the world.

Dozens of residents later thronged the scene, mourning the lifeless and providing any help they might to emergency employees. Docs and emergency staff handled a number of the injured as they lay within the open field. Videos from the scene confirmed the clothing, footwear and other objects meant for the beneficiaries.

One witness who only identified himself as Daniel stated "there have been so many kids” among the many lifeless. 5 of the useless children were from one mom, he informed the AP, including that a pregnant woman also lost her life.

Some church members have been attacked and injured by relatives of the victims after the stampede, in response to witness Christopher Eze. The church declined to comment on the state of affairs.

The police spokeswoman said the seven injured had been “responding to remedy."

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

Nigeria has seen related stampedes previously.

Twenty-four people died at an overcrowded church gathering within the southeastern state of Anambra in 2013, while not less than 16 individuals had been killed in 2014 when a crowd got out of control during a screening for government jobs in the nation's capital, Abuja.

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