Kids among 31 killed at church honest stampede in Nigeria

ABUJA, Nigeria -- A stampede Saturday at a church charity event in southern Nigeria left 31 folks dead and seven injured, police informed The Associated Press, a surprising development at a program that aimed to supply hope to the needy. One witness mentioned the dead included a pregnant lady and plenty of kids.

The stampede at 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, according to Grace Iringe-Koko, a police spokeswoman.

Such occasions are common in Nigeria, Africa’s largest financial system, where more than 80 million people stay 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. Someway the locked gate was broken open, creating a stampede, she said.

Godwin Tepikor from Nigeria’s Nationwide Emergency Management Company stated first responders have been in a position to evacuate the bodies of these trampled to demise and produce them to the morgue. Safety forces cordoned off the world.

Dozens of residents later thronged the scene, mourning the lifeless and providing any help they may to emergency staff. Docs and emergency staff treated some of the injured as they lay in the open subject. Videos from the scene confirmed the clothes, shoes and other gadgets meant for the beneficiaries.

One witness who solely recognized himself as Daniel stated "there were so many kids” among the many dead. 5 of the dead kids were from one mom, he told the AP, adding that a pregnant lady additionally misplaced her life.

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

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

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

Nigeria has seen similar stampedes up to now.

Twenty-four individuals died at an overcrowded church gathering within the southeastern state of Anambra in 2013, while at the least 16 folks were killed in 2014 when a crowd bought uncontrolled 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.