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 individuals lifeless and 7 injured, police informed The Related Press, a surprising improvement at a program that aimed to supply hope to the needy. One witness stated the useless included a pregnant lady and plenty of children.

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

Such occasions are frequent in Nigeria, Africa’s largest economy, the place more than 80 million people reside in poverty, in line with authorities statistics.

Saturday’s charity program was supposed to start at 9 a.m. but dozens arrived as early as 5 a.m. to safe their place in line, Iringe-Koko said. In some way the locked gate was broken open, making a stampede, she mentioned.

Godwin Tepikor from Nigeria’s National Emergency Management Company stated first responders had been able to evacuate the our bodies of these trampled to loss of life and produce them to the morgue. Security forces cordoned off the world.

Dozens of residents later thronged the scene, mourning the dead and providing any assistance they may to emergency staff. Medical doctors and emergency staff handled some of the injured as they lay within the open area. Videos from the scene confirmed the clothes, shoes and other objects meant for the beneficiaries.

One witness who only identified himself as Daniel said "there were so many children” among the useless. Five of the lifeless children were from one mom, he told the AP, adding that a pregnant woman also misplaced her life.

Some church members were attacked and injured by relations of the victims after the stampede, according to witness Christopher Eze. The church declined to comment on the state of affairs.

The police spokeswoman stated 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 similar stampedes in the past.

Twenty-four people died at an overcrowded church gathering within the southeastern state of Anambra in 2013, while at the least 16 folks have been killed in 2014 when a crowd acquired out of control throughout a screening for presidency jobs in the nation's capital, Abuja.

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