Children among 31 killed at church honest stampede in Nigeria

ABUJA, Nigeria -- A stampede Saturday at a church charity occasion in southern Nigeria left 31 individuals useless and 7 injured, police informed The Associated Press, a shocking development at a program that aimed to offer hope to the needy. One witness said the useless included a pregnant girl and plenty of kids.

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

Such events are common in Nigeria, Africa’s largest financial system, the place more than 80 million people reside in poverty, in accordance with authorities statistics.

Saturday’s charity program was supposed to begin at 9 a.m. however dozens arrived as early as 5 a.m. to safe their place in line, Iringe-Koko said. By some means the locked gate was damaged open, creating a stampede, she mentioned.

Godwin Tepikor from Nigeria’s Nationwide Emergency Management Agency mentioned first responders were capable of evacuate the our bodies of these trampled to loss of life and convey 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 might to emergency employees. Doctors and emergency workers handled some of the injured as they lay within the open area. Videos from the scene showed the clothing, footwear and different objects meant for the beneficiaries.

One witness who only recognized himself as Daniel stated "there were so many youngsters” among the many useless. 5 of the dead children have been from one mother, he advised the AP, including that a pregnant girl additionally misplaced her life.

Some church members had been attacked and injured by relatives of the victims after the stampede, in accordance with witness Christopher Eze. The church declined to comment on the situation.

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

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

Nigeria has seen related stampedes previously.

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

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