Kids among 31 killed at church truthful stampede in Nigeria

ABUJA, Nigeria -- A stampede Saturday at a church charity occasion in southern Nigeria left 31 individuals lifeless and 7 injured, police advised The Associated Press, a shocking growth at a program that aimed to offer hope to the needy. One witness mentioned the lifeless included a pregnant woman and many children.

The stampede at the occasion organized by the Kings Assembly Pentecostal church in Rivers state involved people who came to the church’s annual “Shop for Free” charity program, in line with Grace Iringe-Koko, a police spokeswoman.

Such events are widespread in Nigeria, Africa’s largest financial system, where more than 80 million individuals live in poverty, based on authorities 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 stated. By some means the locked gate was damaged open, making a stampede, she mentioned.

Godwin Tepikor from Nigeria’s Nationwide Emergency Management Agency mentioned first responders had been capable of evacuate the bodies of those trampled to loss of life and produce them to the morgue. Security forces cordoned off the area.

Dozens of residents later thronged the scene, mourning the lifeless and offering any help they might to emergency employees. Docs and emergency staff handled a number of the injured as they lay within the open field. Movies from the scene showed the clothing, footwear and different items meant for the beneficiaries.

One witness who solely recognized himself as Daniel said "there have been so many youngsters” among the lifeless. Five of the dead children have been from one mother, he informed the AP, adding that a pregnant girl also misplaced her life.

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

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

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

Nigeria has seen comparable stampedes up to now.

Twenty-four individuals died at an overcrowded church gathering in the southeastern state of Anambra in 2013, whereas no less than 16 people have been killed in 2014 when a crowd obtained out of control throughout a screening for presidency jobs in the nation's capital, Abuja.

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