Youngsters amongst 31 killed at church honest stampede in Nigeria

ABUJA, Nigeria -- A stampede Saturday at a church charity event in southern Nigeria left 31 people lifeless and seven injured, police instructed The Associated Press, a surprising development at a program that aimed to offer hope to the needy. One witness mentioned the useless included a pregnant girl and plenty of children.

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

Such events are common in Nigeria, Africa’s largest financial system, where greater than 80 million individuals reside in poverty, based on 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 mentioned. Someway the locked gate was damaged open, making a stampede, she said.

Godwin Tepikor from Nigeria’s National Emergency Management Agency said first responders had been able to evacuate the bodies of those trampled to loss of life and bring them to the morgue. Security forces cordoned off the realm.

Dozens of residents later thronged the scene, mourning the dead and providing any assistance they could to emergency staff. Docs and emergency employees treated a number of the injured as they lay within the open discipline. Videos from the scene showed the clothes, shoes and other items meant for the beneficiaries.

One witness who solely identified himself as Daniel mentioned "there have been so many youngsters” among the dead. 5 of the dead kids have been from one mother, he advised the AP, adding that a pregnant lady also 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 mentioned the seven injured have been “responding to treatment."

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

Nigeria has seen similar stampedes in the past.

Twenty-four folks died at an overcrowded church gathering in the southeastern state of Anambra in 2013, while no less than 16 folks have been killed in 2014 when a crowd got 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.