Children 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 useless and seven injured, police informed The Associated Press, a stunning improvement at a program that aimed to offer hope to the needy. One witness stated the lifeless included a pregnant woman and plenty of children.

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

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

Saturday’s charity program was supposed to begin at 9 a.m. however dozens arrived as early as 5 a.m. to secure their place in line, Iringe-Koko mentioned. In some way the locked gate was damaged open, making a stampede, she mentioned.

Godwin Tepikor from Nigeria’s National Emergency Administration Company mentioned first responders have been in a position to evacuate the bodies of those trampled to dying and convey them to the morgue. Safety forces cordoned off the realm.

Dozens of residents later thronged the scene, mourning the useless and providing any assistance they may to emergency staff. Docs and emergency staff handled a number of the injured as they lay within the open field. Videos from the scene confirmed the clothes, footwear and other gadgets meant for the beneficiaries.

One witness who solely identified himself as Daniel said "there were so many kids” among the useless. 5 of the dead children had been from one mom, he informed the AP, including that a pregnant woman additionally lost her life.

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

The police spokeswoman said the seven injured have been “responding to remedy."

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

Nigeria has seen comparable stampedes in the past.

Twenty-four folks died at an overcrowded church gathering within the southeastern state of Anambra in 2013, whereas at least 16 individuals had been killed in 2014 when a crowd got uncontrolled throughout a screening for presidency jobs in the nation's capital, Abuja.

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