Children amongst 31 killed at church fair stampede in Nigeria

ABUJA, Nigeria -- A stampede Saturday at a church charity occasion in southern Nigeria left 31 people dead and 7 injured, police advised The Related Press, a shocking development at a program that aimed to supply hope to the needy. One witness said the dead included a pregnant girl and many children.

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

Such occasions are frequent in Nigeria, Africa’s largest economy, the place more than 80 million folks dwell in poverty, in response to 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 said. Somehow the locked gate was broken open, creating a stampede, she stated.

Godwin Tepikor from Nigeria’s National Emergency Management Company stated first responders were in a position to evacuate the bodies of those trampled to dying and convey them to the morgue. Safety forces cordoned off the area.

Dozens of residents later thronged the scene, mourning the dead and providing any help they might to emergency employees. Docs and emergency workers treated a number of the injured as they lay within the open discipline. Videos from the scene confirmed the clothes, footwear and different items meant for the beneficiaries.

One witness who only identified himself as Daniel mentioned "there have been so many children” among the many dead. Five of the useless children were from one mother, he told the AP, including that a pregnant lady additionally lost her life.

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

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

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

Nigeria has seen comparable stampedes prior to now.

Twenty-four individuals died at an overcrowded church gathering within the southeastern state of Anambra in 2013, while at least 16 folks were killed in 2014 when a crowd acquired uncontrolled throughout a screening for government jobs within the nation's capital, Abuja.

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