Kids amongst 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 seven injured, police told The Associated Press, a stunning growth at a program that aimed to offer hope to the needy. One witness stated the lifeless included a pregnant woman and lots of youngsters.

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

Such events are frequent in Nigeria, Africa’s largest financial system, where more than 80 million people live in poverty, in response to government statistics.

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

Godwin Tepikor from Nigeria’s National Emergency Management Agency mentioned first responders had been capable of evacuate the bodies of those trampled to death and convey them to the morgue. Safety forces cordoned off the area.

Dozens of residents later thronged the scene, mourning the lifeless and providing any assistance they may to emergency staff. Doctors and emergency staff treated among the injured as they lay in the open field. Movies from the scene confirmed the clothing, footwear and other objects meant for the beneficiaries.

One witness who solely identified himself as Daniel stated "there have been so many children” among the useless. Five of the dead youngsters were from one mom, he advised the AP, adding that a pregnant girl additionally lost her life.

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

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

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

Nigeria has seen related stampedes up to now.

Twenty-four individuals died at an overcrowded church gathering within the southeastern state of Anambra in 2013, while at the very least 16 individuals have been killed in 2014 when a crowd bought out of control during a screening for government jobs in the nation's capital, Abuja.

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