Youngsters among 31 killed at church truthful stampede in Nigeria

ABUJA, Nigeria -- A stampede Saturday at a church charity event in southern Nigeria left 31 people useless and 7 injured, police advised The Associated Press, a surprising growth at a program that aimed to supply hope to the needy. One witness stated the dead included a pregnant woman and plenty of youngsters.

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

Such events are common in Nigeria, Africa’s largest economy, where greater than 80 million folks reside in poverty, in accordance 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 mentioned. Somehow the locked gate was damaged open, making a stampede, she mentioned.

Godwin Tepikor from Nigeria’s Nationwide Emergency Administration Company mentioned first responders had been in a position to evacuate the our bodies of these trampled to demise and produce them to the morgue. Safety forces cordoned off the realm.

Dozens of residents later thronged the scene, mourning the dead and offering any assistance they may to emergency employees. Doctors and emergency workers handled a number of the injured as they lay within the open area. Videos from the scene showed the clothing, shoes and other objects meant for the beneficiaries.

One witness who solely identified himself as Daniel stated "there were so many youngsters” among the dead. Five of the dead children had been from one mother, he told the AP, including that a pregnant lady additionally misplaced her life.

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

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

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

Nigeria has seen comparable stampedes prior to now.

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

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