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 folks dead and 7 injured, police told The Related Press, a stunning improvement at a program that aimed to offer hope to the needy. One witness said the lifeless included a pregnant girl and lots of children.

The stampede at the event organized by the Kings Meeting Pentecostal church in Rivers state concerned people who got here to the church’s annual “Store for Free” charity program, in keeping with Grace Iringe-Koko, a police spokeswoman.

Such events are common in Nigeria, Africa’s largest economy, where greater than 80 million people 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. One way or the other the locked gate was damaged open, creating a stampede, she said.

Godwin Tepikor from Nigeria’s Nationwide Emergency Administration Agency said first responders were able to evacuate the bodies of these trampled to loss of life and produce them to the morgue. Safety forces cordoned off the world.

Dozens of residents later thronged the scene, mourning the dead and providing any help they could to emergency employees. Docs and emergency staff handled a few of the injured as they lay in the open field. Movies from the scene showed the clothes, sneakers and different items meant for the beneficiaries.

One witness who only recognized himself as Daniel mentioned "there were so many kids” among the many lifeless. 5 of the dead kids have been from one mother, he advised the AP, adding that a pregnant woman additionally misplaced her life.

Some church members had been attacked and injured by family 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” occasion was suspended whereas authorities investigated how the stampede occurred.

Nigeria has seen similar stampedes prior to now.

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

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