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 individuals lifeless and seven injured, police informed The Related Press, a shocking improvement at a program that aimed to offer hope to the needy. One witness stated the lifeless included a pregnant woman and lots of kids.

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

Such events are widespread in Nigeria, Africa’s largest economy, where more than 80 million individuals dwell in poverty, in keeping with government statistics.

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

Godwin Tepikor from Nigeria’s National Emergency Management Company mentioned first responders had been in a position to evacuate the bodies of those trampled to demise and bring them to the morgue. Security forces cordoned off the world.

Dozens of residents later thronged the scene, mourning the lifeless and providing any assistance they may to emergency employees. Medical doctors and emergency workers treated a number of the injured as they lay within the open field. Movies from the scene confirmed the clothing, sneakers and different gadgets meant for the beneficiaries.

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

Some church members have been attacked and injured by family of the victims after the stampede, in keeping with witness Christopher Eze. The church declined to comment on the scenario.

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

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

Nigeria has seen similar stampedes in the past.

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

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