Youngsters among 31 killed at church honest stampede in Nigeria

ABUJA, Nigeria -- A stampede Saturday at a church charity occasion in southern Nigeria left 31 people lifeless and seven injured, police told The Related Press, a shocking improvement at a program that aimed to offer hope to the needy. One witness mentioned the lifeless included a pregnant woman and lots of children.

The stampede at the event organized by the Kings Meeting Pentecostal church in Rivers state involved individuals who came 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 greater than 80 million folks reside in poverty, according to authorities statistics.

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

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

Dozens of residents later thronged the scene, mourning the lifeless and providing any assistance they might to emergency workers. Doctors and emergency workers treated some of the injured as they lay in the open field. Videos from the scene confirmed the clothes, shoes and different items meant for the beneficiaries.

One witness who solely identified himself as Daniel mentioned "there have been so many kids” among the many useless. 5 of the useless youngsters have been from one mother, he told the AP, including that a pregnant girl additionally misplaced her life.

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

The police spokeswoman stated the seven injured were “responding to remedy."

The “Store for Free” event was suspended while 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 at the very least 16 individuals had been killed in 2014 when a crowd bought uncontrolled during a screening for presidency jobs within the nation's capital, Abuja.

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