Children among 31 killed at church honest stampede in Nigeria

ABUJA, Nigeria -- A stampede Saturday at a church charity event in southern Nigeria left 31 people dead and 7 injured, police informed The Related Press, a surprising growth at a program that aimed to supply hope to the needy. One witness said the useless included a pregnant woman and many kids.

The stampede on the occasion organized by the Kings Meeting Pentecostal church in Rivers state concerned individuals who got here to the church’s annual “Shop for Free” charity program, in keeping with Grace Iringe-Koko, a police spokeswoman.

Such events are common in Nigeria, Africa’s largest financial system, the place greater than 80 million folks live in poverty, in accordance with 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 mentioned. Someway the locked gate was damaged open, making a stampede, she stated.

Godwin Tepikor from Nigeria’s National Emergency Administration Company mentioned first responders have been capable of evacuate the our bodies of these trampled to demise and convey them to the morgue. Safety forces cordoned off the world.

Dozens of residents later thronged the scene, mourning the useless and providing any assistance they may to emergency employees. Doctors and emergency employees handled a few of the injured as they lay within the open field. Videos from the scene showed the clothes, sneakers and other gadgets meant for the beneficiaries.

One witness who solely identified himself as Daniel stated "there have been so many kids” among the many lifeless. Five of the lifeless kids were from one mom, he informed the AP, including that a pregnant lady additionally misplaced her life.

Some church members had been attacked and injured by relatives of the victims after the stampede, based on witness Christopher Eze. The church declined to comment on the scenario.

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

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

Nigeria has seen similar stampedes previously.

Twenty-four folks died at an overcrowded church gathering in the southeastern state of Anambra in 2013, whereas no less than 16 people had been killed in 2014 when a crowd received out of control during a screening for presidency jobs within the nation's capital, Abuja.

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